Over the past several months, the logistics industry has experienced a few changes to help encourage new drivers to join the sector to combat the driver shortage. For example, businesses have improved the salary/wages offered to drivers, the government has increased the number of rest stops on the road and additional nationwide training courses are now offered.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the average age for HGV drivers is between 46 and 55 years old, and only 2% of HGV drivers are under 25 years old. As the industry becomes an ageing workforce, it is important that we encourage young people to become HGV drivers. Failure to do so may affect how our country operates as there may be a significant reduction in the produce, items, and fuel available in the UK.

With a shortage of over 400,000 drivers across Europe, Transport Intelligence’s ‘European Driver Shortage’ paper states that the 3 most impacted countries are Poland, Germany and the UK, which has been severely affected as European drivers left due to Brexit.

According to Fleet Point, there are plans to scrap the EU rules and allow newly qualified drivers to operate lorries. Alistair Lindsay COO at Zeus Labs and former Head of Logistics at Tesco said:

“There is no denying that urgent action is needed towards attracting and retaining the next generation of lorry and HGV drivers, even as the industry faces historic challenges from Brexit, the ongoing fuel crisis and a ‘silver exodus’ of retirees.”

Attracting and retaining recruits and existing HGV drivers remains a priority in the industry, as they are the next wave of workers to keep the UK’s economy running. With this in mind, we have highlighted a few methods which businesses can use to encourage young drivers to join the workforce.

 

Ways you can attract younger drivers:

  • Increase salary and incentives – Offering a higher salary and providing rewards and incentives is a great way to encourage drivers to apply for class 1 HGV jobs and class 2 HGV jobs.
  • Job security – Employers should highlight the benefit of having job security to attract new and young drivers who may be considering beginning a new career.
  • Freedom and flexibility – Many young drivers will be seeking positions where they have more freedom and can easily adapt it to their lifestyle. Therefore, highlighting the benefit of having freedom as a class 1 driver or a class 2 driver is also important when aiming to attract young drivers.

Need advice on ways you could attract the younger generation to apply for a class 1 HGV job or a class 2 HGV job? We’ve highlighted ways businesses can do this in our Why Should Younger Drivers Join the Logistics Industry?.

 

Why choose us?

Here at H&G Recruitment, we are a leading one of the nation’s fastest-growing HGV and industrial recruitment experts in the supply chain.

With over 18 years of experience within the industry, our team’s knowledge and passion to help drivers find new roles and to provide businesses with the best candidates is unmatched.

If you have an enquiry about how we could help you, please contact us. Call our team on 0808 175 3644 or send us an email at enquiries@h-g-recruitment.com who will be happy to assist.

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