All quiet on the western front - The calm before the storm?
Any driver about to leave as of next week would have handed in their week’s notice by now.
So… Employers should by this point have some idea of how many drivers short they will be by this time next week.
I’m not seeing many adverts recruiting full timers - so does that mean there is going to be an enormous demand on agency staff come next week?
It seems we’ve reached the 11th hour, and there’s a lot of complacency in yards. As of today, how is anyone going to get all 35 hours of DCPC credit done if they have not already started by now? There’s today, and 4 days left… Just enough time if you crack on as of …Today!
I don’t think you can do 2x7 hour modules in one day - but I stand to be corrected here…
Who’s NOT got their blue card already, and still hasn’t handed in their notice yet?
Are some of you merely “coming off driving” at your yard?
Do you need a blue card to “be a shunter” or to be made up to “transport manager”?
Hows the recruitment at firms like Brakes going? - “DCPC training Provided” the poster says… They must be subject to the same “better get cracking today” argument to have their new recruits duly blue-carded by next monday as well eh?
Are any actual full time C+E jobs being advertised near you? - There appears to be bugger all around here on that score…
Firstly, if you haven’t completed your periodic training before the training deadline, you cannot legally drive commercial vehicles.
Any training completed before the deadline will still count towards your entitlement provided that it has all been completed within a five-year period. For example, if you miss the training deadline in September 2014 and sit your last course in October 2014, your four previously completed courses will still count so long as you didn’t begin your training before October 2009.
It is far from all quiet on the western front. Agencies are going absolutely mental with the amount of work they now have and are projected for next week. Don’t know why you’re not seeing adverts because there’s been quite a notable rise and not just in agency job ads either. There’s several in my area that have cropped up in the last week or so.
As for getting it all done by the 9th, if you haven’t got a course booked then no you’re not because they’re all stuffed full. The place I’m doing mine at is fully booked 2 weeks after the deadline.
Fulltime non-agency? 6 in my small area in the arse end of nowhere and at least one of those I know for definite is looking for several drivers. If I expand that to 20 miles it goes up to 14, but again at least one is wanting several. There’s 10 pages in total with the rest agency but those 14 non-agency are from a total of zero for the fortnight before this last week. I know from how much agencies are screaming at me that those pages of agency jobs may as well be full time because you’re going to be working 6 days a week if you want.
As for “actual full time jobs” I think that companies are moving away from that other than having a core amount of drivers to meet minimum demand. It does work out cheaper for them to use agency to meet that extra demand than employ people. Companies regularly using agency drivers will get to know those who are good and tell the agency that is who they want sending and the agency will do that if the driver wants to go there. I’m at a place now on agency and I can choose to only do that and have plenty of work. Its not even their busy period and I’ve 6 days a week if I want it.
bald bloke:
The deadline day will come and go and we won’t notice any difference what so ever.
Correct answer
Why would anyone give up working just because they have to pay £50 a year even if retired and only working part time it’s still worth doing.
Quite a lot of hauliers in this area are struggling to find drivers, as several have already finished, with quite a few of the older drivers finishing this week. One smaller operator is cutting his fleet from six vehicles to two, because four of his drivers are finishing.
Surely any firm worth working for has put their drivers through it already, assuming their drivers wanted to which I think tbh most do.
It’s the agencies this cpc thing is affecting most IMO, hence the panic on their front and sudden rise in wages. Fair few banners around Trafford Park from agencies looking for drivers with good pay rates advertised. Still wouldn’t trust these scumbag companies as far as I could spit.
The whole CPC thing has not been an issue at our place whatsoever.
Agency I used to be with are offering a £150 sign up bonus and have upped their rate by £1.50ph.
Also if a registered driver refers another licence holder who signs up they get £100 too.
Apparently as of 2 weeks ago were 30 drivers short, there was a meeting last week apparently considering upping the day rate as other firms locally have upped theirs and our place is ■■■■■■■■ their pants about more going.
Using all the subbies and agency they can get hold of, there still 4/5 drivers a day short.
I was kinda anticipating the yards trying to poach a few drivers with offers of full time posts ahead of the deadline - before the agencies mop up all the remaining drivers with promises that some will keep, others will not.
That’s not what I’m seeing though. There used to be periodic adverts around here from firms like Castledean, Staplehurst Transit, Lehnam Storage, and even Nobbies - but right now? - Nothing - except agency ads, who of course don’t like to advertise the client you’ll be put to in the same banner as the fact that it’s an agency recruiting, rather than an actual yard.
It’s not even obvious which agencies will survive, and which not - because the ones that pay the least and treat everyone the worst - are unfortunately the ones with the most money that can continue to run on a “losing money until this blows over” attitude, and hope some more generous agencies fall over first. The biggest danger to agencies currently is blue-card-holding drivers defecting to other firms, who may or may not be misleading them in the exact details of “the higher rates” being touted.
In these parts, the non-driver specialist agencies like Blue Arrow & Extrastaff would be the ones I’d predict are going to have the most problems… Who is going to work for some firm that might pay more money one week, but then has no work at all for weeks after? They don’t really have any work of their own, since it’s all subbed from other specialist agency non-fills of shifts…
If the yards continue this “just in time” approach to having the barest number of full time drivers, and then hoping to make up the rest with agency as the workload demands - they might just be in for a nasty shock when numerous agencies start touting “we can’t fill your shift, we don’t have enough drivers mate” kinda thing…
That’s why I’m surprised that there have not been more “last minute” adverts for full timers…
Wot? Each one once? One call from a random one out of all of them?
There should be some kind of central clearing system for drivers - so once you’re booked out on a job, you can’t be hounded by other agencies trying to get you to chuck one job in to do another instead… Not very professional.
The entire market would work better if all available drivers were on a central computer pool to be drawn from as well… Several agencies are large enough to set up such infrastructure, but because there’s more in it for drivers than the agencies themselves - I guess there’s just no political will to get it done.
Nephew has just been through the UCAS system - would not advocate it for drivers in a million years!!!
Full-time permanent class 2 jobs have suddenly started rearing their heads around here - mind you driving a dustcart around many Cotswold villages is definitely one for the experienced-only drivers. Local milk tanker company also looking for permanent staff as well, at least it’s nice to see agencies being by-passed for a while at least…
Winseer:
Wot? Each one once? One call from a random one out of all of them?
There should be some kind of central clearing system for drivers - so once you’re booked out on a job, you can’t be hounded by other agencies trying to get you to chuck one job in to do another instead… Not very professional.
The entire market would work better if all available drivers were on a central computer pool to be drawn from as well… Several agencies are large enough to set up such infrastructure, but because there’s more in it for drivers than the agencies themselves - I guess there’s just no political will to get it done.
Considering I’ve not even been driving a month yet, a lot of the contracts I’m not allowed on because I don’t meet the insurance requirements. But you have to start at the bottom if you want to make your way to the top. I’ve had agencies try and get to me to switch. Offering more money etc.
Quite a few firms are trying to poach drivers face to face and bit using adverts.
In the last two months I’ve been asked by two customers that we work for to go to them, and two other firms local to mine when I have dropped stuff into them. Add to that the agency vultures on the services and the various adverts at goods in windows I’d say there is a definite increase in full time roles available, whether advertised in the usual manner or not.
The same thing will happen, that happened when the HGV licences came in. Driver Training schools will spring up, because of the shortage of drivers, and wages will go up. It might mean a whole new phase in haulage, whereas hauliers will have to rise their rates for customers to cover the cost of rising costs including drivers wages, which should have happened years ago.
Dave the Renegade:
The same thing will happen, that happened when the HGV licences came in. Driver Training schools will spring up, because of the shortage of drivers, and wages will go up. It might mean a whole new phase in haulage, whereas hauliers will have to rise their rates for customers to cover the cost of rising costs including drivers wages, which should have happened years ago.
Winseer:
All quiet on the western front - The calm before the storm?
Any driver about to leave as of next week would have handed in their week’s notice by now.
So… Employers should by this point have some idea of how many drivers short they will be by this time next week.
I’m not seeing many adverts recruiting full timers - so does that mean there is going to be an enormous demand on agency staff come next week?
It seems we’ve reached the 11th hour, and there’s a lot of complacency in yards. As of today, how is anyone going to get all 35 hours of DCPC credit done if they have not already started by now? There’s today, and 4 days left… Just enough time if you crack on as of …Today!
I don’t think you can do 2x7 hour modules in one day - but I stand to be corrected here…
Who’s NOT got their blue card already, and still hasn’t handed in their notice yet?
Are some of you merely “coming off driving” at your yard?
Do you need a blue card to “be a shunter” or to be made up to “transport manager”?
Hows the recruitment at firms like Brakes going? - “DCPC training Provided” the poster says… They must be subject to the same “better get cracking today” argument to have their new recruits duly blue-carded by next monday as well eh?
Are any actual full time C+E jobs being advertised near you? - There appears to be bugger all around here on that score…
Just the usual Asda pre-Christmas recruitment, everything else is agency.
I think the deadline will cometh…and goeth, without anyone noticing. So far, the only evidence I’ve seen of the shortfall is rumour and speculation, most of which comes from agencies. Ask ANY agency if they have vacancies for drivers and they’ll say yes, we have loads - regardless of how much work they have. They want as may drivers as possible on the books to cover every eventuality (and Christmas is coming). It will be a cold day in hell before I believe anything an agency tells me.
I think that a significant number of license holders won’t have bothered with the DCPC, simply because they don’t need to. 25% of the license holders in the UK don’t work in the transport industry. Fire fighters, squaddies, Crane drivers, fitters and some others are exempt. Many more have licenses but don’t use them, but keep them up to date just in case. Others are retired and won’t renew next time around. None of these will have a DCPC card, but that will have no effect at all on the job market.
