海角视频

Management at a Midlands transport company are offering free training to try and help tackle the chronic shortage of HGV drivers in the 海角视频.

There are concerns crippling driver shortages are causing one of the greatest challenges in 海角视频 haulage for years and threatening big supply chain delays.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) says there is a shortage of about 60,000 drivers, with around 30,000 HGV driving tests lost last year because of the pandemic.

Many European drivers have also returned to their home countries, with Brexit and pandemic restrictions dampening enthusiasm for returning to the 海角视频.

The huge spike in demand for home deliveries has also added to the crisis.

Leicestershire-based Translink Express Logistics says it will invest tens of thousands of pounds in free training courses to help get more drivers on the roads.

The business, based in the village of Narborough, a couple of miles from junction 21 of the M1, says its scheme to offer fully-funded driver training to new and existing employees is the first of its kind, and will provide a simpler route into work for younger and new-pass drivers.

Translink, which is a member of the Wolverhampton-based Pallet-Track network, is offering free HGV training courses to its staff from this month (July) up to a value of 拢2,500 per person.

Drivers will be able to take the course during working hours and won鈥檛 have to use annual leave to complete the training.

Translink has also struck a deal with the national HGV training school Hughes Driver Training to introduce all new-pass drivers in the Leicestershire area to the business with the aim of helping them develop their driving skills further.

The company will offer all new-pass HGV Class 2 drivers the opportunity to upgrade to HGV Class 1 within six months, for free, and is working with its insurers Towergate to allow it to take on younger and new-pass drivers without the usual 鈥榬ed tape鈥� which often obstructs this process.

Chris Hobbis, commercial director at Translink, said: 鈥淭here鈥檚 no upper limit to what we鈥檙e pledging here 鈥� we鈥檙e committed to investing whatever it takes to solve this problem.

鈥淲e put up posters advertising this opportunity and had eight per cent of our staff apply within 24 hours, which is a fantastic return and shows the potential demand for the service.

鈥淲e have also had agency drivers interested in joining us so that they can take advantage of the scheme.

鈥淲e鈥檙e really confident this project will help our business deal with the HGV driver shortage, which is now around 80,000 nationwide.

鈥淚n addition to the training, the arrangement with Towergate will help us take on younger and new-pass drivers without the huge excesses on insurance policies which previously made this an almost-impossible task.

鈥淭his concept hasn鈥檛 been used anywhere before and we think it could help start to solve our network鈥檚 driver recruitment problems.鈥�

The launch of Translink鈥檚 training project comes shortly after Pallet-Track chief executive Caroline Green called on all of the company鈥檚 shareholder members to write to their MPs to raise the issue.

Caroline said: 鈥淚鈥檝e said previously that collective action is the way to tackle this crisis 鈥� it is too big for one company to solve alone.

鈥淭he scheme being introduced by Translink Express is exactly the sort of innovative, forward-thinking action needed to help us deal with this issue.鈥�