is there a driver shortage in your area? Do you refuse to work for low wages?
darren1000:
is there a driver shortage in your area? Do you refuse to work for low wages?
I am not 100% certain, but I know that plenty of So called PERM jobs do come up from the Job Centre site for the area I’m in, You have to sort out the Cras (Agency) from the Wheat (Proper Jobs)
I wont get out of bed for less than £9 ph, currently on £10 ph straight thru, usually do around 10 - 12 hrs, but have been doing 13-15 recently
However, If I was offered a FULL time Perm position of say £8:50 ish ph, I would take it and stop the worry of IF i have work tomorrow
As an employer we have an ever growing list of drivers asking for work. I would suggest that in my area (Manchester) we have a shortage of jobs and an abundance of drivers. We used to receive maybe one request for work a week. We are currently receiving 4 or 5 a day.
However - at current take up rates of DCPC we will soon have a reversal of this situation and a driver shortage is almost guaranteed.
Of course - these are only my own thoughts and I may be wrong.
Pete
No driver shortage ! The vacancies forum is busier than its ever been with drivers looking for work !
There’s an abundance of drivers prepared to work for poor wages, in exchange for a full time post and a shortage of drivers only prepared to work for decent wages that can’t be bribed by a full time post!
There’s been a shortage of drivers for years, unfortunately no shortage of licence holders. 
.
No i wouldn’t drive for crap wages, if was forced to work for sub standard pay i would give sub standard work in return, peanuts and monkeys.
My company does use agency lads every day, however they are very well paid, about the same pro rata as us full timers on salary, this agency doesn’t employ just anyone either, no i’ll rephrase that, they don’t send just anyone or maybe our gaffer won’t accept just anyone…again peanuts etc, you get what you pay for.
Go to Reed.co.uk, type in driver and your postcode then look at how many applications each vacancy has.
Short answer being, definitely not. Not where I live anyway. Most have applications in double figures, some as high as 50.
darren1000:
is there a driver shortage in your area? Do you refuse to work for low wages?
there is a shortage of decent drivers, but no shortage of muppets.
i don’t work for agencies, and i don’t work for hourly pay.
Definitely no shortage. All I hear is miserable drivers asking about new jobs
Hi all.Today in the local paper there was an article about the new mine which has just opened in Kaunisvaara.Northern Resources said that they will soon be wanting about 150 drivers to transport the ore from the mine to the railhead.As there is already a shortage of drivers up here there was speculation how to resolve the problem.
As the trucks will be 24mtr rodtrains running 24\7 they will need at least 5\6 drivers per truck.Due to the mine being located about 200kms ABOVE the artic circle it ain’t exactly overpopulated here.Mike
Obviously depends on your location but in general it appears no.
Read and heard there is a shortage of younger drivers entering the system and with the vast majority of truckers aged in the late 40’s to late 50’s a shortage will eventually happen imo.
AJT no that will never happen as now that eddie has his own training academy there will be millions of young guys on the up 
darren1000:
is there a driver shortage in your area? Do you refuse to work for low wages?
Why would anyone work for low wages in this industry 
There are 80,000 vacancies for HGV drivers in the UK that companies can’t find people for, they all pay £650 per week and you can choose what hours you work and you’ll be treated with great respect.
I read that on a training brokers website so it must be true
No there is not a driver shortage. Yes, i work for crap money.
To anyone who says i shouldn,t, then, well ok, I,ll tell them I wont do it any more.
That,ll teach ,em eh?
I,ll also tell the dole my colleagues in the industry say I should refuse all work less than £10 an hr.
Thats got them sorted as well.
If this cunning plan fails, then maybe those in a fancy job on a salary can offer some help.
Just had a look on Reed. haven’t done so for a while;
Class 2 driver in Hemel Hempstead 75 applications.
Class 1 driver again in Hemel 68 Applications.
from some of the posts, i feel the need to repeat myself.
NO SHORTAGE OF MUPPETS. 
limeyphil:
from some of the posts, i feel the need to repeat myself.
NO SHORTAGE OF MUPPETS.
Your bang on the money there.
Not a shortage as such…but plenty of idiots working for crap pay so the rest of us that won’t have a devil of a time finding an employer/agency than understands if you want a decent driver you have to pay for it…
When the DCPC kicks in, a lot of the drivers saying they won’t do it, will…they’ll just up their moaning accordingly. Drivers often haven’t the balls to demand a decent days’ pay, so they are hardly gonna pack in work because of a few hours course…
Plenty of hauliers taking the ■■■■ with hourly rates, but if they can find muppets to do it then you can’t blame them I suppose…
Hiya .i’ve got my digi and 40 years under my belt, never did fridges or tanks. tilts tippers hiabs general and lowloaders,
i packed up distance 9 years ago, i did hiabs 6 years in stanlow…i’d stack in tesco before i’d work on the road again.
the job stinks now…
John
Yes the job does stink now. I passed my class one in 1975 at the age of 21 and have had well paid jobs and not so good pay. I`m personally happier on agency than working for someone, but I understand alot of blokes crave a permanent job, with good money.
So I ask again. Please can someone tell these guys and me how to go about it in a practical way?
And by that I mean without recourse to insults, or merely saying, “well just tell them you demand more money or you`ll not work for them”.
Im well turned out, polite and have more experience than most on here I would suggest. Physically very fit and willing. But Im still at a loss as to how to conjur up a fancy arssed job with £30k for 40 hrs.
So come on…Its so easy isn`t it.