I saw an advert this week from a skip company up here in the north east, friendly, family run, good kit etc very busy blah blah looking for a class 2 driver. Rate was £6.30ph! Sent them an email saying good luck with that.
Pimpdaddy:
Oh no not this zb again, daily mail are now on this bs bandwagon:evil::twisted:
It only takes a few weeks to train an HGV driver, the government & hauliers should pull their finger out & do something about it if it’s that bad-THERE IS NO DRIVER SHORTAGE & THERE WILL NEVER BE ONE:!::!::!:
To be fair the article does get some right.
“Thousands of British heavy goods vehicle drivers are retiring as the population ages, experts warn.”
This is correct. About a decade ago the FTA did a survey and the average age of a truck driver was 53.
“Too few newly-qualified replacements are being trained up in the UK to take their place.”
Again correct. In the same survey there were 10,000 a year leaving the industry and only a few thousand provisional HGV license applications. Those license applications included HM Forces (the bulk), Fire Brigade and people wanting to drive horseboxes - people who were very unlikely to drive commercially.
Shame they then had to do a “Daily Mail” at the end and have a dig with the video.
holliefabbabe:
maybe if i was paid £200 a day , i might get off my arse and do some work insted of doing 2 days a week and living off benefits
That’s taking the ■■■■ 
Boo9729:
Get off your arse and find a job that pays £200 a day then instead of sponging on the state !!!
Quote me a job that pays £200 per day and I’l be first in the queue!
Seems the news about driver shortage and the CPC is now making the National newspapers.
Conor:
Pimpdaddy:
Oh no not this zb again, daily mail are now on this bs bandwagon:evil::twisted:
It only takes a few weeks to train an HGV driver, the government & hauliers should pull their finger out & do something about it if it’s that bad-THERE IS NO DRIVER SHORTAGE & THERE WILL NEVER BE ONE:!::!::!:To be fair the article does get some right.
“Thousands of British heavy goods vehicle drivers are retiring as the population ages, experts warn.”
This is correct. About a decade ago the FTA did a survey and the average age of a truck driver was 53.
“Too few newly-qualified replacements are being trained up in the UK to take their place.”
Again correct. In the same survey there were 10,000 a year leaving the industry and only a few thousand provisional HGV license applications. Those license applications included HM Forces (the bulk), Fire Brigade and people wanting to drive horseboxes - people who were very unlikely to drive commercially.
Shame they then had to do a “Daily Mail” at the end and have a dig with the video.
Not often I’m in agreement with Conor but I thought the same 
. For a Daily Wail article it was pretty much spot on.
we might get a pay rise then 
Last night I did my first shift since the DCPC thing came into force, I was really surprised when I said to one of the planners I was thinking of being available full time until xmas, reply was “oh thank god!”.
The main hub seemed to be having the same problem putting bums on seats, when I was waiting to be allocated my return trailer, if they’re struggling then fork knows what is happening down the food chain.
Having read the article and as much as it pains me it is quite accurate (almost like the reporter has been visiting this forum 
).
We folks are entering into an age when HGV (or LGV) drivers are in high demand and short supply. Theres no doubt surely that agencies relying on part time drivers will feel the effect first but soon therew will be a lack of talent (and dare I say incentive) for new blood to enter our industry.
Seasonal demand this year will see a real issue that may dwindle a bit in the new year but the logic and undeniable truth of supply vs demand cannot be underestimated.
The masses not bothering with the dCPC will affect our pay rates as the pool of flip floppers when inducted into our culture want the same money anyway so cannot in the long term fill this gap.
Now is the time to request more money and if you don’t then geneartions to come will be stuffed.
Get this right and soon we will be talking £20 per hour rates.
Course the prices of goods in the shops will get dearer as heaven forbid the driver of the vehicle costs more than the fuel but bollox to em…
[edit: obviously I’m a little bit ■■■■■■ and on me soapbox]
Frazer smith:
we might get a pay rise then
You mean you missed out on Wednesday??
weeto:
samsgrandad:
more bullsh#tIf it is, who benefits from it?
If it were official that government policy is killing British Citizens - then it would become a scandal.
Encouraging newcomers for minimum wage whilst discouraging experienced licence holders because of long hours and crap money …
Kills People.
That’s the scandal.
chicane:
Last night I did my first shift since the DCPC thing came into force, I was really surprised when I said to one of the planners I was thinking of being available full time until xmas, reply was “oh thank god!”.The main hub seemed to be having the same problem putting bums on seats, when I was waiting to be allocated my return trailer, if they’re struggling then fork knows what is happening down the food chain.
That’ll be the opposite of me then.
When the snow falls, and I’m offered the same money as the past 3 years to work “where the pressure is” - whilst everyone else is on half as much again - I’m dropping down to one day a week until I’m offered parity. The flexibility of working agency cuts both ways. It doesn’t pay me to work longer hours for flat money. 
I’ve got used to being on the sidelines, relegated to part time, for January-March, so I’ve kinda got used to it.
Boo9729:
holliefabbabe:
maybe if people stopped being so tight , and payed a driver his worth , they wouldn’t have a issue, builders laborers , cleaners and gardeners are on more money that a class one driver, and maybe if i was paid £200 a day , i might get off my arse and do some work insted of doing 2 days a week and living off benefitsGet off your arse and find a job that pays £200 a day then instead of sponging on the state !!!
It can be argued that low pay encourages people to stay at home. I believe it’s called the “poverty trap” and mostly affects those workers with young kids at home - ie they have not split up with the missus yet, or left the family in the lurch.
Under the current system, anyone earning less than £18k with kids gets their pay topped up so they don’t go short. Then if one’s earnings rise above £18k, the excess is raked back pound for pound off the top-up. Thus, if you earn an extra £5k gross for example, you’ll lose about a third of that in tax & insurance. Alas, £5k will be taken off the benefit, so in actual fact you’ve worked all that extra - and LOST around £1500 overall - and for what? Working class Pride? - The system is broke, and unfit for purpose. Benefits should be payable without means test for those who’ve paid into the system for years, rather than just to those on low incomes, because they’ve effectively been discouraged from working.
The Tories, oddly, have taken on Labour’s Tax Credit spending plans in full - rather than altered the system to make it good for the type of person that might actually vote Tory - rather than what they’ve actually done - nothing - which actually encourages previously hard-working people to become dependent on benefits FFS! What use is a system like THAT for the long term?
Pay into the system for years? - get benefits for a little while - then get hammered just as you get back on your feet - BECAUSE you’re getting back on your feet!
Pay nowt ever? - Get ALL benefits forever. No checks on the lies told when these workshy types sign on. 
If I were running DWP - I would scrap everyone’s benefits in a towns like Crawley or Reading where there are more jobs than applicants available all year round.
The period of “demand outstripping supply” started this past week, and will rise to a head just before Christmas.
If you’re going to get a pay rise then - it will be during this period.
If you don’t get one during this period, you’ll never get one - and it might be worth looking around for a new employer, including agencies.
Winseer:
If you’re going to get a pay rise then - it will be during this period.
If you don’t get one during this period, you’ll never get one - and it might be worth looking around for a new employer.
This very point has been discussed at our place.
I’m on parity at what I consider is a pretty decent rate for 1. the kind of work, 2. the area. of course I’d like more but wouldn’t we all. I fit driving round other things and from now to about April is our quiet time. I’ll be looking forward to a lull in Jan- March but I don’t think its going to happen. Runs are pretty much the same throughout the year, the only difference is a few extra runs on the busiest routes.
Cushy jobs (regular wage, ‘job for life’ style security) in an economic downturn are a boon - it has to be said.
Trouble is, those jobs slowly fall behind to very much “second rate” during an upturn - especially a strong upturn.
The last time I was in the stage of the economic cycle as I am right now - was just after Blair won the 1997 election.
Now, I never voted for Blair - but things picked up for yours truly pretty sharply from 1997-2000 where it levelled off until 2002, and then went downhill all the way.
Dare I say that that someone like Gordon Brown might have had more to do with “my personal upturn” than anyone else?
Classic Daily Fail. Stiring the pot saying there won’t be stuff on supermarket shelves this Christmas then they post a video of a trucker making a badly timed u-turn.
Radar19:
Classic Daily Fail. Stiring the pot saying there won’t be stuff on supermarket shelves this Christmas then they post a video of a trucker making a badly timed u-turn.
I dunno, it may have been a straight ahead only junction, and he didn’t indicate his intensions, but the U turn itself was perfect, no kerbings nothing hit, jobs a good un.
alterego:
buster4086:
Why would any new driver want to be an HGV driver? There’s no incentive, starting from scratch they’ve got to do 7.5t, class 3 then class 1, then the dcpc then get a digi card, maybe an ADR or hIAB licence, all that expense of a few thousand pounds to earn almost minimum wage, why bother? Go drive a van or forklift for the same money…No need to do 7.5 ton first
yes there is if you passed your car test in the last 15 years
and if you have only passed your car test in the last year or 2
you have to pass another test to drive vehicles between 3.5 ton and 7.5 ton
and only then will you need to pay for training and take another test to drive 7 and a half ton vehicles
and after that test you can train for your class 2 /cat c test
and if you pass that test you can pay more training money for your class 1/c plus e test
all in all it will cost you about 5 grand presuming you pass each test first time which is extremely highly unlikely