This year, the UK’s logistics industry has had its ups and downs, with the continuous driver shortage, Brexit and the Government’s new strategies to help improve the logistics sector.

Over the past couple of years, Britain has experienced several supply shortages due to the lack of HGV drivers. There has been a surge of drivers needed in the UK, with the vacancies available reaching approximately 100,000 this year. This has drastically increased because of COVID, as prior to the breakout of the pandemic, this figure was roughly 60,000.

To help tackle the driver shortage, the government and individual businesses have been making improvements to encourage drivers to join and return to the industry. The improvements include:

  • Increased pay – HGV drivers across the UK are now being paid substantially higher wages and salaries, with some drivers reporting that they have received over £50,000.
  • Offered support – the government introduced new courses for people to be trained as new drivers earlier this year. This included boot camps, courtesy of the Department for Education, which donated millions of pounds to train up to 3,000 new drivers to gain a category C or a C+E licence.
  • Additional driving examiners – the MOD deployed Defence Driving Examiners to assist with the HGV driving exams.
  • Letters issued to HGV drivers – the Department of Transport (DfT) and DVLA sent approximately 1 million letters to encourage HGV drivers to get back into the industry.

 

Recruited overseas drivers

The government made a few changes this year and they also created a new programme to encourage HGV drivers from overseas to return to the UK.

3 months ago, they announced a visa scheme that allowed 5,000 overseas HGV drivers and 5,500 poultry workers to work in the UK during this Christmas period. This visa scheme was introduced to reduce the chance of a supply shortage during the busiest time of the year. However, in the early stages of releasing this scheme, Conservative party chair Oliver Dowden said that there were a “relatively limited” number of applicants and drivers whose visas had been approved under the scheme, the Guardian reported.

As we approach 2022, we hope that the government and more businesses continue to implement new changes within the industry to tackle the driver shortage and to make the logistics field better for our drivers. If we all implement change, then together, we can help to keep our country moving and hopefully reduce the driver shortage.

 

How we can help you

At H&G Recruitment, our team consists of industry experts who are passionate about the logistics sector, so we are continuously doing our part in making improvements for our drivers.

Whether you have years of experience, or you’re a newly qualified driver, we can help support you with your driving career. We can provide you with regular work, great rates of pay, and we have a range of job positions available including HGV class 1 driver jobs and HGV class 2 jobs. This means we can find a role that will suit your lifestyle.

If you’re a HGV driver or you’re interested in becoming one, we want to hear from you. Call our team on 0808 175 3644 or send us an email at enquiries@h-g-recruitment.com. 

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