Driver Shortage Report very long

[blunder_man]

Look at this job, advertised on the jobcentre today, roping and sheeting, ADR, all for the princley sum of £8 per hour I notice it does not state when the overtime rate kicks in. and note it mentions annual hours, the biggest rip of going annual hours, its up there with job & finish, a percentage of what the truck earns, and all the other scams they have come up with to avoid paying a decent wage over the years, the best on I heard was a container operator in Immingham who 1, ran on red diesel, only paid when the truck was actuall moving, if you were tipping he did not pay, BUT SOMEBODY DID IT.whats wanted in this industry is a decent basic and o/t after 45 and enhanced rates for weekends LIKE WE USED TO GET.

Beaches Transport Ltd

HGV Class one driver

Job description

5 HGV vacancies exist based at Scunthorpe for new contracts starting shortly in the Yorkshire region. All positions will be on a tramping basis so regular nights away will form part of the position. Pay is on an hourly basis with plenty of overtime plus meal allowance plus nights out & expenses, drivers uniforms are provided along with all PPE requirements. Some experience of roping & sheeting would be an advantage as would an ADR qualification (class 2,3,5 & 6 in packages ) but full training will be given. this is predominantly curtainsider work with some flat bed operations covering from the north of Scotland to the south coast, you would have a dedicated vehicle from the start.
In order to apply you must have an in date class one HGV licence with no more than 6 points, an in date driver CPC card and an in date driver digi card
these positions are based on Monday to Friday. we are a progressive forward thinking company and are looking for drivers who will be part of the company and grow with us. Should this be of interest applying is simple just send us your CV or even just a covering letter detailing contact details and a few lines telling us about YOU
this is NOT an agency position, Job ID
32450172
Posting Date
28/02/2017
Company
Beaches Transport Ltd
Location
UK-Yorkshire-Scunthorpe
Industries
Transport and storage - materials
Job type
Full time
Career level
None
Education Level
CSE or equivalent
Salary
8.00 - 14.00 per hour
Meal allowance,subsistance,expenses
Hours of Work
Overtime
Annual hours

[harry_monk]

Blunder Man:
Look at this job, advertised on the jobcentre today, roping and sheeting, ADR, all for the princley sum of £8 per hour

As I’ve posted before, my son is 18 and he earns £8 an hour working in the local hospital, serving meals to patients, mopping floors and emptying bins. He didn’t have to spend £3,000 to get a licence to do it.

There is no driver shortage, and anyone with the most basic understanding of economics would understand that.

[winseer]

I believe there is a driver shortage, but social engineering has been done to make us all believe that there is not. “Transport Policy” is ■■■■■■■■■ politics.
Trouble is, the fact remains that so many drivers have been put off joining at the younger end - the shortage won’t bite until there really are no decent drivers left, or the sub-standard drivers have run out of insurance companies to defraud or public to kill.

How much longer until adverts start saying “11 points on licence OK - providing you will work a basic 56 hour week @ £8ph” with anything (illegal) above that paid as £14, providing it’s a bank holiday… “Normal” overtime is £9ph, and you take off a second 45 min unpaid break.

Thus, a 15 hour shift would be paid 11.5 hours @ £8ph and 2 hours @£9ph the other 90 mins being unpaid. You would be expected to book at least 2.5hours per day as POA as well, to keep legal, and take holidays when the firm tells you to - as standdown days.

Standards can only get worse over time. It’s the public and insurers that should be objecting, as the insurers pay out on drivers that shouldn’t even be on the road, and the public get killed by the same.

[ovlov_jay]

Blunder Man:
Look at this job, advertised on the jobcentre today, roping and sheeting, ADR, all for the princley sum of £8 per hour I notice it does not state when the overtime rate kicks in. and note it mentions annual hours, the biggest rip of going annual hours, its up there with job & finish, a percentage of what the truck earns, and all the other scams they have come up with to avoid paying a decent wage over the years, the best on I heard was a container operator in Immingham who 1, ran on red diesel, only paid when the truck was actuall moving, if you were tipping he did not pay, BUT SOMEBODY DID IT.whats wanted in this industry is a decent basic and o/t after 45 and enhanced rates for weekends LIKE WE USED TO GET.

Beaches Transport Ltd

HGV Class one driver

Job description

5 HGV vacancies exist based at Scunthorpe for new contracts starting shortly in the Yorkshire region. All positions will be on a tramping basis so regular nights away will form part of the position. Pay is on an hourly basis with plenty of overtime plus meal allowance plus nights out & expenses, drivers uniforms are provided along with all PPE requirements. Some experience of roping & sheeting would be an advantage as would an ADR qualification (class 2,3,5 & 6 in packages ) but full training will be given. this is predominantly curtainsider work with some flat bed operations covering from the north of Scotland to the south coast, you would have a dedicated vehicle from the start.
In order to apply you must have an in date class one HGV licence with no more than 6 points, an in date driver CPC card and an in date driver digi card
these positions are based on Monday to Friday. we are a progressive forward thinking company and are looking for drivers who will be part of the company and grow with us. Should this be of interest applying is simple just send us your CV or even just a covering letter detailing contact details and a few lines telling us about YOU
this is NOT an agency position, Job ID
32450172
Posting Date
28/02/2017
Company
Beaches Transport Ltd
Location
UK-Yorkshire-Scunthorpe
Industries
Transport and storage - materials
Job type
Full time
Career level
None
Education Level
CSE or equivalent
Salary
8.00 - 14.00 per hour
Meal allowance,subsistance,expenses
Hours of Work
Overtime
Annual hours

To be honest, it’s worth it for the adr qualification, then find a better paying job

[winseer]

If it was a proper job - it would have a basic pay OR a number of hours with a decent hourly rate.
This advert is small on such details. Avoid then.
If you are prepared to work for half the going rate - then guess what? - You’ll receive it in abundance!

[burnley-si]

if there was a shortage then owner driver rates would be going through the roof, there not, this tells you everything

[fuse]

I wish people would stop flying this silly kite with the hope that the tax payer will launch great dollops of cash to fund training.

[evil8beezle]

fuse:
I wish people would stop flying this silly kite with the hope that the tax payer will launch great dollops of cash to fund training.

Well according to the quick poll I did on here, 30% believed there was/is a driver shortage, yet none of them wanted to state their reasons openly on why they thought this?

[the_nodding_donkey]

Harry Monk:

Blunder Man:
Look at this job, advertised on the jobcentre today, roping and sheeting, ADR, all for the princley sum of £8 per hour

As I’ve posted before, my son is 18 and he earns £8 an hour working in the local hospital, serving meals to patients, mopping floors and emptying bins. He didn’t have to spend £3,000 to get a licence to do it.

There is no driver shortage, and anyone with the most basic understanding of economics would understand that.

Oh, come on Harry, not that again. If given a choice between driving a truck, or being a hospital porter, with the same pay, I would still be a driver. I have not seen queues of trucks outside hospital entrances, supermarket employee entrances, or elsewhere, with drivers switching jobs.

And you never tell us who your son works for. NHS or private contractor. Part-time, full-time or 0 hour contract? What does he actually take home, as a reward for mopping up sick?

[mike_3]

OVLOV JAY:
To be honest, it’s worth it for the adr qualification, then find a better paying job

It’s not, they will make you pay it back if you leave within x years. I used to work for Beaches directors previous company and work alongside Beaches guys regularly.

They treat their drivers like crap and they struggle to earn good money even on haz work. Avoid.

[muckles]

Mike_:

OVLOV JAY:
To be honest, it’s worth it for the adr qualification, then find a better paying job

It’s not, they will make you pay it back if you leave within x years. I used to work for Beaches directors previous company and work alongside Beaches guys regularly.

They treat their drivers like crap and they struggle to earn good money even on haz work. Avoid.

I think the fact it’s been advertised in the job centre should tell you what you need to know, rarely see good jobs advertised there.
Somebody on here said “basically companies advertise there, as they know that any unemployed HGV driver in that area will have to apply for the job or lose their benefit.” (Not having been in that position I don’t know how true this is, but I can believe it)

However an article in the FT about the, (lets take a lead from President Trump and say) the “so called Driver Shortage” said in that month there were just over 500 people in the UK with an HGV registered as a job seeker, so they probably haven’t got much of a pool to choose using Job Centres

[harry_monk]

the nodding donkey:

Harry Monk:

Blunder Man:
Look at this job, advertised on the jobcentre today, roping and sheeting, ADR, all for the princley sum of £8 per hour

As I’ve posted before, my son is 18 and he earns £8 an hour working in the local hospital, serving meals to patients, mopping floors and emptying bins. He didn’t have to spend £3,000 to get a licence to do it.

There is no driver shortage, and anyone with the most basic understanding of economics would understand that.

Oh, come on Harry, not that again. If given a choice between driving a truck, or being a hospital porter, with the same pay, I would still be a driver. I have not seen queues of trucks outside hospital entrances, supermarket employee entrances, or elsewhere, with drivers switching jobs.

And you never tell us who your son works for. NHS or private contractor. Part-time, full-time or 0 hour contract? What does he actually take home, as a reward for mopping up sick?

You are missing the point. If there was a shortage of drivers, employers would have no option other than to increase wages in order to attract drivers away from other firms and this is not happening.

[munchkin]

Winseer:
I agree with all of this, but what will end up happening if we’re not careful is that “Brexit will be blamed” when the house of cards that is UK road trade collapses once our access to cheap labour has been removed.

What would happen for instance if in ten years time, only firms able to pay a driver’s wage of £20ph can get drivers? The big boys will ■■■■ it and see, but the small yards will die out like our pubs have.

There would be plenty of drivers USING their licences at £20 ph. No shortage!

Sent from my X17 using Tapatalk

[captain_caveman_76]

muckles:
However an article in the FT about the, (lets take a lead from President Trump and say) the “so called Driver Shortage” said in that month there were just over 500 people in the UK with an HGV registered as a job seeker, so they probably haven’t got much of a pool to choose using Job Centres

Then doesn’t that just reinforce the notion that there IS a driver shortage if there are only 500 surplus drivers in the country?

[muckles]

Captain Caveman 76:

muckles:
However an article in the FT about the, (lets take a lead from President Trump and say) the “so called Driver Shortage” said in that month there were just over 500 people in the UK with an HGV registered as a job seeker, so they probably haven’t got much of a pool to choose using Job Centres

Then doesn’t that just reinforce the notion that there IS a driver shortage if there are only 500 surplus drivers in the country?

Well it would if there were 501 trucks sat idle and goods not delivered because they couldn’t get bums on seats.

There maybe a demographic time bomb with the average age of drivers going up and therefore many more drivers leaving the industry each year than are being recruited.
But as many others have said until companies are giving incentives to poach drivers from other companies and there are truck stood with undelivered goods on then there isn’t a drivers shortage.
and the truth is that what’s most desirable for bosses is to have a surplus of labour, as this is the way of keeping wage demands down and existing workforce under control.

[winseer]

Munchkin:

Winseer:
I agree with all of this, but what will end up happening if we’re not careful is that “Brexit will be blamed” when the house of cards that is UK road trade collapses once our access to cheap labour has been removed.

What would happen for instance if in ten years time, only firms able to pay a driver’s wage of £20ph can get drivers? The big boys will ■■■■ it and see, but the small yards will die out like our pubs have.

There would be plenty of drivers USING their licences at £20 ph. No shortage!

I don’t think so… If the £20 came tomorrow then yes I would agree. By the time the £20 got here though, a whole bunch of drivers will have let their blue card lapse, they may have reached retirement age, or found themselves happy and settled into another career by that point. With Brexit over two years away (we’re told) then I’m thinking that that will prevent the £20ph coming BEFORE that point. As far as a mid-50’s driver is concerned - “2+ years before a sniff” might as well be forever and a day.

Sent from my X17 using Tapatalk

[the_nodding_donkey]

Harry Monk:

the nodding donkey:

Harry Monk:

Blunder Man:
Look at this job, advertised on the jobcentre today, roping and sheeting, ADR, all for the princley sum of £8 per hour

As I’ve posted before, my son is 18 and he earns £8 an hour working in the local hospital, serving meals to patients, mopping floors and emptying bins. He didn’t have to spend £3,000 to get a licence to do it.

There is no driver shortage, and anyone with the most basic understanding of economics would understand that.

Oh, come on Harry, not that again. If given a choice between driving a truck, or being a hospital porter, with the same pay, I would still be a driver. I have not seen queues of trucks outside hospital entrances, supermarket employee entrances, or elsewhere, with drivers switching jobs.

And you never tell us who your son works for. NHS or private contractor. Part-time, full-time or 0 hour contract? What does he actually take home, as a reward for mopping up sick?

You are missing the point. If there was a shortage of drivers, employers would have no option other than to increase wages in order to attract drivers away from other firms and this is not happening.

I was not aware of the current shortage of hospital porters.

[captain_caveman_76]

muckles:

Captain Caveman 76:

muckles:
However an article in the FT about the, (lets take a lead from President Trump and say) the “so called Driver Shortage” said in that month there were just over 500 people in the UK with an HGV registered as a job seeker, so they probably haven’t got much of a pool to choose using Job Centres

Then doesn’t that just reinforce the notion that there IS a driver shortage if there are only 500 surplus drivers in the country?

Well it would if there were 501 trucks sat idle and goods not delivered because they couldn’t get bums on seats.

There maybe a demographic time bomb with the average age of drivers going up and therefore many more drivers leaving the industry each year than are being recruited.
But as many others have said until companies are giving incentives to poach drivers from other companies and there are truck stood with undelivered goods on then there isn’t a drivers shortage.
and the truth is that what’s most desirable for bosses is to have a surplus of labour, as this is the way of keeping wage demands down and existing workforce under control.

I’m not disagreeing with you on the driver shortage. We’ve had some right turnips on agency drive for us, bridgehitting, trailer dropping, getting lost and bag hanging turnips. We simply ask for them not to come back get someone else instead.

From: transportoperator.co.uk/2016/01/29/3568/ (Jan '16)

"The much-reported shortage of UK truck drivers may be attributed more to a paucity of attractive employment opportunities in the industry than a dearth of large goods vehicle (LGV) licence holders, a transport consultant has claimed.

Kirsten Tisdale is principal of logistics consultancy Aricia Ltd. Prior to establishing the consultancy in 2001, she held senior positions as a consultant or manager with Marks & Spencer Logistics Group, TNT, NFC and others.

Concerned at reports of a demographic ‘ticking timebomb’ in the driving workforce from trade associations, she made freedom of information requests of the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for the numbers of all Category C and C + E licence holders with and without the Driver CPC qualification, and asked that these be provided in five-year age bands.

She compared these numbers with those provided by the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Labour Force Survey, which recorded the number of people who said they were employed as LGV drivers in the period June-September 2015.

The results are startling. There are 80,000 individuals with a Category C or C + E LGV licence and a current Driver CPC in the crucial 25-44 age group (the most attractive to employers for insurance and medical reasons) who are not currently working as truck drivers.

What’s more, there are 90,000 individuals in the 25-34 age band holding C or C + E licences, but without a current Driver CPC. All they would require would be a week in a classroom without any test or examination, and they too could get behind the wheel of a truck.

Ms Tisdale cautions that this figure includes an unknown number of serving armed forces personnel who are obviously not currently available to employers. But the figures nonetheless put the 45,000-60,000 shortage estimated by the trade associations into sharp context.

Could it in fact be the case that an oversupply of drivers has led to poor wages and conditions of employment, in turn making it deeply unattractive as an employment prospect?

Transport Operator has questioned ten former truck drivers about the reasons why they left the industry. They all cited stress as a major factor – highlighting unrealistic scheduling and aggressive micromanagement by telematics, overzealous enforcement, and the aggressive or distracted behavior of other road users as key irritants.

Other significant factors cited by a majority of respondents included low wages and/or poor pension provision, and long working hours.

A variety of other careers had since been chosen, ranging from entering the police service to becoming a lab assistant, but most former drivers we questioned are now engaged in plant operation and/or maintenance, or building trades.

There was, however, one thing they all agreed upon – while they enjoyed driving trucks, none of them had any intention of ever doing it for a living again.

If those who are already qualified to drive trucks no longer feel inclined to do so, urgent questions emerge about how the industry expects to attract new trainees. A typical ‘starter’ job in truck driving will be 7.5-tonne multidrop for between 50p to £1 an hour over the national minimum wage.

“This is about re-inspiring people who took their licences and couldn’t hack the job for whatever reason,” argued Kirsten Tisdale. “If it were just one or two people, then you could put it down to their own unrealistic expectations. But it looks like there’s tens, even hundreds, of thousands.

“Our industry isn’t just less attractive to younger people, it’s not that attractive to any age group. So how do we get some of those qualified people to come and drive a truck?”

She highlights the “legislative burden” inflicted upon drivers as one factor forcing them out of the industry, but also urges employers to take a long, hard look at themselves.

“There are things that our industry can do for itself. Looking after drivers – giving them self-respect by paying them an attractive rate for sensible hours, and providing some decent facilities at DCs and out on the road. We need to ask ourselves how many older drivers would come into the industry today, particularly as agency drivers?

“Increased wages and training need to be built into increased operating costs and charges for transport need to go up.”

Responding to the figures, Alan White, managing director of Fresh Logistics Services, asked: “What are we going to do about the driver shortage? Well to start, change your pay and conditions, invest in your workforce and understand your business cost base – rather than being a fiver cheaper than Joe Bloggs Haulage.”

According to the Labour Party’s Labour Research Department, the median increase for basic rates of pay in the transport and communication sector last year was two per cent, down from 2.7 per cent the previous year. The respected independent journal Commercial Vehicle Engineer has forecast a driver pay increase of 2.5 per cent for the coming year.

In contrast, the ONS reports average pay increases across the whole UK workforce of 2.7 per cent for 2014-15, with pay increases of 2.9 per cent in the service sector, 3.6 per cent in finance and banking and (most significantly for the transport industry) 4.0 per cent in construction."

[muckles]

Captain Caveman 76:

muckles:

Captain Caveman 76:

muckles:
However an article in the FT about the, (lets take a lead from President Trump and say) the “so called Driver Shortage” said in that month there were just over 500 people in the UK with an HGV registered as a job seeker, so they probably haven’t got much of a pool to choose using Job Centres

Then doesn’t that just reinforce the notion that there IS a driver shortage if there are only 500 surplus drivers in the country?

Well it would if there were 501 trucks sat idle and goods not delivered because they couldn’t get bums on seats.

There maybe a demographic time bomb with the average age of drivers going up and therefore many more drivers leaving the industry each year than are being recruited.
But as many others have said until companies are giving incentives to poach drivers from other companies and there are truck stood with undelivered goods on then there isn’t a drivers shortage.

I’m not disagreeing with you on the driver shortage. We’ve had some right turnips on agency drive for us,

I suppose it depends on definition of shortage I see a shortage as trucks standing and goods undelivered, but maybe its not enough good reliable drivers, which means companies have to take on those that are a liability.

Captain Caveman 76:
"The much-reported shortage of UK truck drivers may be attributed more to a paucity of attractive employment opportunities in the industry than a dearth of large goods vehicle (LGV) licence holders, a transport consultant has claimed.

Transport Operator has questioned ten former truck drivers about the reasons why they left the industry. They all cited stress as a major factor – highlighting unrealistic scheduling and aggressive micromanagement by telematics, overzealous enforcement, and the aggressive or distracted behavior of other road users as key irritants.

Other significant factors cited by a majority of respondents included low wages and/or poor pension provision, and long working hours.

There was, however, one thing they all agreed upon – while they enjoyed driving trucks, none of them had any intention of ever doing it for a living again.

If those who are already qualified to drive trucks no longer feel inclined to do so, urgent questions emerge about how the industry expects to attract new trainees. A typical ‘starter’ job in truck driving will be 7.5-tonne multidrop for between 50p to £1 an hour over the national minimum wage.

She highlights the “legislative burden” inflicted upon drivers as one factor forcing them out of the industry, but also urges employers to take a long, hard look at themselves.

“Increased wages and training need to be built into increased operating costs and charges for transport need to go up.”

Interesting report, but sadly yet another report that the Industry will completely ignore.
Meanwhile they keep trying to get more bums to fill seats by going cap in hand to the Government with their tale of woe and portents of doom of empty Supermarket shelves, starvation and rioting in the streets, if they can’t get drivers.

But guess what you don’t need a massive Tax Payer funded training program guys, just offer decent pay and conditions, there are plenty of HGV drivers out there, they just don’t want to work a 60 hours week for you bunch of tossers and the peanuts you pay.

[carryfast]

Captain Caveman 76:
From: transportoperator.co.uk/2016/01/29/3568/ (Jan '16)

"The much-reported shortage of UK truck drivers maybe attributed more to a paucity of attractive job opportunities in the industry than a dearth of large goods vehicle (LGV) licence holders, a transport consultant has claimed.

Kirsten Tisdale is principal of logistics consultancy Aricia Ltd. Prior to establishing the consultancy in 2001, she held senior positions as a consultant or manager with Marks & Spencer Logistics Group, TNT, NFC and others.

Concerned at reports of a demographic ‘ticking timebomb’ in the driving workforce from trade associations, she made freedom of information requests of the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for the numbers of all Category C and C + E licence holders with and without the Driver CPC qualification, and asked that these be provided in five-year age bands.

She compared these numbers with those provided by the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Labour Force Survey, which recorded the number of people who said they were employed as LGV drivers in the period June-September 2015.

The results are startling. There are 80,000 individuals with a Category C or C + E LGV licence and a current Driver CPC in the crucial 25-44 age group (the most attractive to employers for insurance and medical reasons) who are not currently working as truck drivers.

What’s more, there are 90,000 individuals in the 25-34 age band holding C or C + E licences, but without a current Driver CPC. All they would require would be a week in a classroom without any test or examination, and they too could get behind the wheel of a truck.

Ms Tisdale cautions that this figure includes an unknown number of serving armed forces personnel who are obviously not currently available to employers. But the figures nonetheless put the 45,000-60,000 shortage estimated by the trade associations into sharp context.

Could it in fact be the case that an oversupply of drivers has led to poor wages and conditions of employment, in turn making it deeply unattractive as an employment prospect?

Transport Operator has questioned ten former truck drivers about the reasons why they left the industry. They all cited stress as a major factor – highlighting unrealistic scheduling and aggressive micromanagement by telematics, overzealous enforcement, and the aggressive or distracted behavior of other road users as key irritants.

Other significant factors cited by a majority of respondents included low wages and/or poor pension provision, and long working hours.

A variety of other careers had since been chosen, ranging from entering the police service to becoming a lab assistant, but most former drivers we questioned are now engaged in plant operation and/or maintenance, or building trades.

There was, however, one thing they all agreed upon – while they enjoyed driving trucks, none of them had any intention of ever doing it for a living again.

If those who are already qualified to drive trucks no longer feel inclined to do so, urgent questions emerge about how the industry expects to attract new trainees. A typical ‘starter’ job in truck driving will be 7.5-tonne multidrop for between 50p to £1 an hour over the national minimum wage.

“This is about re-inspiring people who took their licences and couldn’t hack the job for whatever reason,” argued Kirsten Tisdale. “If it were just one or two people, then you could put it down to their own unrealistic expectations. But it looks like there’s tens, even hundreds, of thousands.

“Our industry isn’t just less attractive to younger people, it’s not that attractive to any age group. So how do we get some of those qualified people to come and drive a truck?”

She highlights the “legislative burden” inflicted upon drivers as one factor forcing them out of the industry, but also urges employers to take a long, hard look at themselves.

“There are things that our industry can do for itself. Looking after drivers – giving them self-respect by paying them an attractive rate for sensible hours, and providing some decent facilities at DCs and out on the road. We need to ask ourselves how many older drivers would come into the industry today, particularly as agency drivers?

“Increased wages and training need to be built into increased operating costs and charges for transport need to go up.”

Responding to the figures, Alan White, managing director of Fresh Logistics Services, asked: “What are we going to do about the driver shortage? Well to start, change your pay and conditions, invest in your workforce and understand your business cost base – rather than being a fiver cheaper than Joe Bloggs Haulage.”

According to the Labour Party’s Labour Research Department, the median increase for basic rates of pay in the transport and communication sector last year was two per cent, down from 2.7 per cent the previous year. The respected independent journal Commercial Vehicle Engineer has forecast a driver pay increase of 2.5 per cent for the coming year.

In contrast, the ONS reports average pay increases across the whole UK workforce of 2.7 per cent for 2014-15, with pay increases of 2.9 per cent in the service sector, 3.6 per cent in finance and banking and (most significantly for the transport industry) 4.0 per cent in construction."

Make their minds up either it’s a case of not enough new drivers taking the place of older retiring drivers.Or it’s a case of too many existing drivers walking away to drive a bulldozer because they can’t earn £20 per hour ( doubtful ).

Assuming the former.Let’s get this right.The industry admits and imposes an effective working life span of less than 20 years on its driver pool.Which obviously counts out interest by anyone between the ages of 18-25 and with no decent wage to subsidise early retirement among the 45+ age group. While also saying that 7.5 t local multi drop/ class 3 ) is often the staple work for new start drivers.Which is a reasonable reflection of my experience as a new driver in the job decades ago.IE irrational discrimination against under 25 drivers and a matter of sheer luck and face fits pecking orders as to career progression up to or after that point.With it being a similar matter of luck as to how long the working life span will be beyond the age of 45 and with no decent pension system in place to cover it.With many potential opportunities outside of the uk distribution sector going to the foreign driver pool anyway.Then they wonder why they can’t find new drivers to replace an ageing workforce.