It’s just been on the local ITV Tyne Tees news that in a few years time there will be a driver shortage…
Even one haulier came on saying that he has had to limit the amount of runs he has to do per day. (?)
Says too many are retiring and not enough are coming into the industry to cover that…
Is using the news another way (cheeky advertising) to get people into the HGV schools and then work for nowt? 
You’ll know beyond all doubt that there is a driver shortage when the EU let more countries such as Turkey, The Phillipines and Pakistan into their club!
The job wont pay.
How come the bosses cant understand this? Bum up the wage.
I’ve sometimes have thought of doing a few weekend hours when my FT work hours allow (winter when we’re quiet), but then look at what people are paying…
Guess I’ll stick to having my free time to myself…
Goldfinger:
It’s just been on the local ITV Tyne Tees news that in a few years time there will be a driver shortage…Even one haulier came on saying that he has had to limit the amount of runs he has to do per day. (?)
Says too many are retiring and not enough are coming into the industry to cover that…
Is using the news another way (cheeky advertising) to get people into the HGV schools and then work for nowt?
I think the last paragraph sums it up, the schools are going through a slack period and are trying to drum up some business. This is an annual thing so don’t worry about it.
when I left school (i’m 22 now so not long ago 
) there were around 5 or 6 of us that got our licences as soon as possible and walked into work relatively easy. Out of that I believe everyone bar one lad who got an interesting heavy haul gig has got a job doing something else because the pay was crap.
Who wants to ■■■■■ 3k on a licence for a paltry £7-9 p/h!?! its no wonder no young blood is interested in coming into the industry when there are “normal” jobs paying the same or better with far better T&C’s.
to date I’ve done 2 runs total using my class 1 and got made redundant twice while driving class 2 before I had had enough. hats off to the guys that put up with it but 4 years was enough for me to call it a day and move on.
Goldfinger:
Says too many are retiring and not enough are coming into the industry to cover that…
Then the rules of supply and demand will come into play. The pay will rise until they do get enough drivers into the industry and s&d equalises.
That is how supply and demand works, is it not? I wait with baited breath.
Dan ze Man:
The job wont pay.How come the bosses cant understand this? Bum up the wage.
+1
Nowa days the trucks are all foreign made so why not the drivers?There is a huge supply of labour in other lands with lots of them whisper it prepared to break the law to get here.People on here have said that they would have a caravan in the yard .The bosses are going to say that drivers dont need housing so they can all share the same wobble box.The same has happened in the fishing industry with Phillipino crew sleeping on the boat while in harbour.Welcome to the race to the bottom or diversity as some call it.
There’s no shortage of drivers.There’s just a shortage of ‘the type’ of driver who is happy to do all the local multi drop/distribution sector zb work that the Brits are left with after all the foreign operators have taken all the less boring distance work.
That combined with the fact that even what second best trunking work we’ve got is lumbered with needlesly long hours caused by speed limiters and the move away from direct link trailer swaps on job and finish.
The result of all that even being arguably more an issue of ‘turnover’ as opposed to ‘shortage’.The confusion of which would obviously create an excuse for maintaining a high immigration environment.
Carryfast:
There’s no shortage of drivers.There’s just a shortage of ‘the type’ of driver who is happy to do all the local multi drop/distribution sector zb work that the Brits are left with after all the foreign operators have taken all the less boring distance work.That combined with the fact that even what second best trunking work we’ve got is lumbered with needlesly long hours caused by speed limiters and the move away from direct link trailer swaps on job and finish.
The result of all that even being arguably more an issue of ‘turnover’ as opposed to ‘shortage’.The confusion of which would obviously create an excuse for maintaining a high immigration environment.
Re: RDC and multi-drop - the Coop are advertising for new drivers now. I would consider this…if I lived near Thurrock.
co-operative.jobs/distribution/drivers/ .
I don’t mind hard work, it’s putting up with badly parked cars where you’d normally unload that’s the difficult bit.
I still think we can learn a lot from the attitude towards work by the Polish. 
maga:
when I left school (i’m 22 now so not long agoWho wants to ■■■■■ 3k on a licence for a paltry £7-9 p/h!?! its no wonder no young blood is interested in coming into the industry when there are “normal” jobs paying the same or better with far better T&C’s.
to date I’ve done 2 runs total using my class 1 and got made redundant twice while driving class 2 before I had had enough. hats off to the guys that put up with it but 4 years was enough for me to call it a day and move on.
+1 to all of that. TJFNCC as my old gaffer used to say (The Job’s Fked and No Ct Cares).
I cant get booked in for class 1 until mid September, then again I have waited over 25 years
Hilz:
Carryfast:
There’s no shortage of drivers.There’s just a shortage of ‘the type’ of driver who is happy to do all the local multi drop/distribution sector zb work that the Brits are left with after all the foreign operators have taken all the less boring distance work.That combined with the fact that even what second best trunking work we’ve got is lumbered with needlesly long hours caused by speed limiters and the move away from direct link trailer swaps on job and finish.
The result of all that even being arguably more an issue of ‘turnover’ as opposed to ‘shortage’.The confusion of which would obviously create an excuse for maintaining a high immigration environment.
Re: RDC and multi-drop - the Coop are advertising for new drivers now. I would consider this…if I lived near Thurrock.
co-operative.jobs/distribution/drivers/ .
I don’t mind hard work, it’s putting up with badly parked cars where you’d normally unload that’s the difficult bit.
I still think we can learn a lot from the attitude towards work by the Polish.
If you look on the roads of Europe most of ‘the Polish etc’ aren’t queuing up for zb Brit distribution etc type jobs they are probably happier staying at home doing better,less boring,work for similar money bearing in mind the difference in the cost of living.Which might also explain the reference to ‘shortage’.IE even the EE’s don’t want it because they have better opportunies at home. 
As for distance/haulage sector v local distribution I think you’re confusing the difference between ‘boring’ as opposed to ‘hard’ work.
there’s been a shortage since I started 36yrs ago
A lot of older drivers? True
Plenty of jobs? There are in my area, can’t speak for the rest of the country.
Crap pay? Unlucky if you are. Maybe change your job rather than moan about it.
Youth don’t want to come into the industry? They do but the 3k initial outlay is the problem as widely publisised.
Class 2 HGV Driver
Transport Company - London E16
Class 2 drivers required
Experience essential
£600 +OT +BONUS
CPC in line with legal requirements
Experience of London
Good spoken English <------ Hehe funny this one is.
I can give you some info about polish/lithuanian pay.
It is in a region of 2000 to 4000 E. There is good and bad pays etc. Now if you translate it into living costs it is x3 to x4 times.
I have a friend of mine who lives in his lorry for 8 weeks for 6k E. then 4 weeks off for 600E. Not nice but, pay is good and his family is well off.
It would be similar to about 6k to 10k month here in uk.
The only problem is Expensive goods like phones, tv’s, and cars have huge prices. But local foods and housing cost peanuts.
Dan ze Man:
Class 2 HGV Driver
Transport Company - London E16
Class 2 drivers requiredExperience essential
£600 +OT +BONUS
CPC in line with legal requirements
Experience of London
Good spoken English <------ Hehe funny this one is.
I can give you some info about polish/lithuanian pay.
It is in a region of 2000 to 4000 E. There is good and bad pays etc. Now if you translate it into living costs it is x3 to x4 times.
I have a friend of mine who lives in his lorry for 8 weeks for 6k E. then 4 weeks off for 600E. Not nice but, pay is good and his family is well off.It would be similar to about 6k to 10k month here in uk.
The only problem is Expensive goods like phones, tv’s, and cars have huge prices. But local foods and housing cost peanuts.
Sounds like a no brainer.Commute into London every day for the privilege of driving a tipper amongst the cyclists v Euro tramping for more pay in real terms.
The EE job would look even better if they made it 2 weeks on 1 week off.As for the cost of consumer goods do they know could buy the stuff in Luxembourg and pay the local rate of tax there and then take it home under EU rules.
The EU a supposed level playing field without tarrifs but with numerous different levels of purchase tax.
Lets just take our cynical hats off for one second and assume that British haulage companies were actually interested in employing and retaining British drivers. If that was the case, and we all know it isn’t, then the good old “Must be over 25 years of age for insurance purposes and have a minimum of two years experience” would cease to exist as a constant barrier to entry in to the job for home grown drivers and especially young drivers, the very age group you need to be targeting before they all embark on other paths. At the end of the day, if you cover seeds you’ve planted in your flower bed with a tarpaulin in the shape of the above mentioned quotation, your seeds will never bear fruit and become drivers. This is solely an industry created problem due to short sightedness and greed, something endemic in Britain more so than any other western nation.
robinhood_1984:
Lets just take our cynical hats off for one second and assume that British haulage companies were actually interested in employing and retaining British drivers. If that was the case, and we all know it isn’t, then the good old “Must be over 25 years of age for insurance purposes and have a minimum of two years experience” would cease to exist as a constant barrier to entry in to the job for home grown drivers and especially young drivers, the very age group you need to be targeting before they all embark on other paths. At the end of the day, if you cover seeds you’ve planted in your flower bed with a tarpaulin in the shape of the above mentioned quotation, your seeds will never bear fruit and become drivers. This is solely an industry created problem due to short sightedness and greed, something endemic in Britain more so than any other western nation.
Amen to That. !!!