We were talking about this in work the other day and one of the TM’s said they were getting worried about what’s gonna happen come the Sept deadline …
I said " nothing really it’ll be natural progression where drivers come up for retirement all be it a bit early due to not wanting to have sat through and pay for 35hrs of dcpc to cover them for a few years."
So the swing for some from being an agency driver getting that first foot on the ladder being used and abused to getting some full time work on the books with some good company’s.
We have exactly that happening on Monday where one of the lads has been ad-hoc agency for a while and now he’s on full time core, I kid you not he’s well chuffed. guaranteed money in the bank every month, pension, sick pay , holidays , training, medical cost etc etc .
what I find most amazing is that your and other TMs are only now waking up to the DCPC threat.
I’ve had 4 calls in the last couple of days, the usual weekender from the agency checking my availability for the next week and how soon can I go full time and 3 from people I’ve never met/heard of checking my availability long term. The agency guy says the latest figures he’s heard are for a 60,000 shortfall in drivers after 9 Sept.
chicane:
what I find most amazing is that your and other TMs are only now waking up to the DCPC threat.
I’ve had 4 calls in the last couple of days, the usual weekender from the agency checking my availability for the next week and how soon can I go full time and 3 from people I’ve never met/heard of checking my availability long term. The agency guy says the latest figures he’s heard are for a 60,000 shortfall in drivers after 9 Sept.
Interesting times ahead
I would never, EVER believe any figures like that quoted by an agency. An agency will do anything, say anything to convince you that there’s going to be a massive short-fall of drivers and if you stick with them you’ll get loads of work. In 2009 there were roughly 300,000 people employed as LGV drivers in the UK. If that figure is still true, your agency is suggesting a 20% short-fall! The industry would grind to a halt! The government would be bricking it, and the army would be in stand-by.
I have no reason to doubt him, he’s always played it straight in the 4yrs or so I’ve been with them, the gap may have reduced by now but from the numbers leaving, the lack of new blood and the problems seen in the last couple of months sourcing drivers, indicated by the calls I’ve started receiving this week I reckon there will be a significant shortfall, even if its a lot less than 20% there’s going to be some twitchy TMs out there in a couple of weeks. I thought the number of HGV drivers required was nearer 400,000.
The government IS bricking it, hence the laughable press release recently that DCPC training is pretty much on target, which those of us on the ground know is absolute bollox.
The DCPC is only part of the picture, the underlying problem is the lack of new drivers entering the industry.
Why would a youngster spend around £3,000 to get a C+E and earn £7 an hour or have to spend years at the beck and call of a thieving agency because big employers won’t recruit, agencies in my opinion are the root cause of the problem.
You hear a lot from drivers on this forum about the DCPC and agencies, how the former is a load of crap and the latter being scumbags.
The very same drivers who work for agencies then post how they claim to earn more than employed drivers whilst taking January and February off without pay, the driver is his own worst enemy always has been always will.
Why blame the agencies, again? If companies were more forward thinking the would have apprentice type schemes to get youngsters in, train them up correctly & employ them on a decent wage. Agencies work on supply & demand, take away the demand & they would disappear.
The only input I can add to this thread is that virtually every haulage company I have sent out ‘prospecting’ emails out to last week have replied and said they have vacancies??
It not just the dcpc but the exorbitant cost of getting a hgv license nowadays, plus the bad way they will get treated when actually they get those licenses. A cash cow for the DVSA and another muppet for the RDC’s.
chicane:
what I find most amazing is that your and other TMs are only now waking up to the DCPC threat.
I’ve had 4 calls in the last couple of days, the usual weekender from the agency checking my availability for the next week and how soon can I go full time and 3 from people I’ve never met/heard of checking my availability long term. The agency guy says the latest figures he’s heard are for a 60,000 shortfall in drivers after 9 Sept.
Interesting times ahead
I would never, EVER believe any figures like that quoted by an agency. An agency will do anything, say anything to convince you that there’s going to be a massive short-fall of drivers and if you stick with them you’ll get loads of work. In 2009 there were roughly 300,000 people employed as LGV drivers in the UK. If that figure is still true, your agency is suggesting a 20% short-fall! The industry would grind to a halt! The government would be bricking it, and the army would be in stand-by.
I’m not a fan of agencies, have only worked for one for one day and I simply refuse to work for them, but what interest would an agency have in telling drivers there is going to be 60 000 drivers shortfall?
By letting drivers know this , agencies would be exposing themselves to potential demands of rates increases as drivers would realize they are in some serious demand, and that drivers can now demand higher rates or agencies wouldn’t be having enough bods to cover work they have.
So, I reckon the number makes sense.
From old Joe keeping going to part time, 1. cos after years on the road neither he nor his missus can readjust to him being under her feet all the time, 2. the social interaction such as it is, 3. feeling that he’s still of use, 4 supplementing his pension. The DCPC has made him realise he’s no longer wanted and its a load of hassle he can’t afford and doesn’t need.
To young Jake who 1. hasn’t got 3k for the tests, 2. hasn’t got any savings to live on while he sits out his 2yrs, 3. has a young missus and kids whom he’d actually like to see now and again, 4. can get paid better for the same or less hours elsewhere, without having to put up with being treated like dogshyte.
The industry leadership has sleepwalked into this by focusing on dropping rates and driver pay to unrealistic levels in a race to the bottom. I can take or leave the job, its an add-on which keeps the books ticking over during our quiet times. Seems to me that haulage as much as any other industry proves the old truism that managers are always promoted to one grade above their level of competence.
I can’t decide whether to apply for a local job which has been advertised for a couple of weeks, or to wait until our transport meeting this week, to hear what changes (including wages) are being implemented where I am now. My heart says “apply” but my head says “sit it out” especially with the DCPC deadline looming.
I don’t care whether people think I’m loyal or not, I just want the easiest job for the best money.
The thing to ask yourselves is how many drivers do YOU actually know not doing the dcpc .I bet most of us cant name one, you may know the odd one that wont have it in time but they wont be out of the game long if at all. My money is on them extending the deadline if there really is going to be a short fall
all this talk of a shortfall of drivers stems from one fact. The number of people who hold a LGV licence and the number of people who have either completed or are working towards their 35hrs training.
Now everyone knows that prior to 1997 passing a test in a car acquired licence holders the right to drive up to 7.5 tonnes. But what no one knows is how many are using or have ever used this right or how many holders of other categories of licence are using theirs. I know of 7 in my own family who are licenced up to 7.5t but have never driven any thing bigger than a car,none of whom have any intention of driving for a living so therefore have not done dcpc.
The projected shortfall figures have been calculated using the numbers of holders of LGV entitlement against the numbers doing/done the 35hrs
There will be no driver shortage in my opinion due to dcpc but if the economy improves then there may be more work available
Sure i’ve been preaching about this for months but we have the ingredients for the perfect storm to trigger an upward shift in drivers pay.
Poor conditions in our industry + poor pay + dCPC requirement + economic upturn + high cost of entering our profession to start with + seasonal increase in driver demand = ££££
No amount of flip flops wearers will change this.
Whether this will just be a short term windfall for agency drivers or a general increase across the board, time will tell.
Think you’ll find the shortfall we are talking about are the number of drivers required by the industry minus the number who have done their DCPC. Gov’t and some TMs can dream on if they want. I’ve got work anytime I’m available and thats for the forseeable.
Dipper_Dave:
Sure i’ve been preaching about this for months but we have the ingredients for the perfect storm to trigger an upward shift in drivers pay.
Already seeing it with agencies in the Hull area. 20-25% increase with most agencies in the Hull area in the last five months and we’ve not even got to the busy time of the year yet. That happens around October.
Place I’ve done my DCPC training at were telling those in the room that if they’d not got all their modules booked that they are booked solid for the 2 weeks after the 9th September deadline because of the number of people who’ve left it too late.
Dipper_Dave:
Sure i’ve been preaching about this for months but we have the ingredients for the perfect storm to trigger an upward shift in drivers pay.
Poor conditions in our industry + poor pay + dCPC requirement + economic upturn + high cost of entering our profession to start with + seasonal increase in driver demand = ££££
No amount of flip flops wearers will change this.
Whether this will just be a short term windfall for agency drivers or a general increase across the board, time will tell.
Yes, although I disagree about the flip flop quota. Dave will have the new queen Elizabeth carrier moored off bulgo & rumo with the prince of Wales moored off turkey selling tickets to the jamboree.
mike68:
The DCPC is only part of the picture, the underlying problem is the lack of new drivers entering the industry.
Why would a youngster spend around £3,000 to get a C+E and earn £7 an hour or have to spend years at the beck and call of a thieving agency because big employers won’t recruit, agencies in my opinion are the root cause of the problem.
You hear a lot from drivers on this forum about the DCPC and agencies, how the former is a load of crap and the latter being scumbags.
The very same drivers who work for agencies then post how they claim to earn more than employed drivers whilst taking January and February off without pay, the driver is his own worst enemy always has been always will.
chicane:
what I find most amazing is that your and other TMs are only now waking up to the DCPC threat.
I’ve had 4 calls in the last couple of days, the usual weekender from the agency checking my availability for the next week and how soon can I go full time and 3 from people I’ve never met/heard of checking my availability long term. The agency guy says the latest figures he’s heard are for a 60,000 shortfall in drivers after 9 Sept.
Interesting times ahead
I would never, EVER believe any figures like that quoted by an agency. An agency will do anything, say anything to convince you that there’s going to be a massive short-fall of drivers and if you stick with them you’ll get loads of work. In 2009 there were roughly 300,000 people employed as LGV drivers in the UK. If that figure is still true, your agency is suggesting a 20% short-fall! The industry would grind to a halt! The government would be bricking it, and the army would be in stand-by.
