Trucking along to offer new drive for economy
A rapidly growing Ayrshire homeless charity has teamed with the Scottish Road Haulage group ( S. R. H. G) in a bid to forge a major new project for the local and national economy.
The joint project will see SeAscape train homeless people, including skilled refugees in South Ayrshire to become qualified drivers of vans, trailers and, ultimately, Large / Heavy Goods Vehicles.
Geoff Campbell, who initiated the need for an urgent approach to the HGV driver shortage in Scotland, said: “Currently we face a major challenge in the road haulage sector in Scotland.
“In the HGV sector in Scotland, we are short of 11,000 skilled drivers.
“We face an immediate challenge to the Scottish economy.
“The lack of commercial drivers is a critical issue and we have been pursuing this and highlighting it to the Scottish Government.
“But we also have to look elsewhere and so it includes, as in this project, involving those sections of society like the homeless.
“This project working with Seascape, when it is fully up and running will deliver a new window of opportunity for a group of people who can make a contribution to the industry and the economy.
“The sector, after all, impacts every facet of our daily lives.”
The homeless charity’s CEO, Niven Rennie, said the project had the capacity to offer much needed employment opportunitues.
He said: “A major part of our plan is to provide hope and dignity.
“This project can do that.
“That includes embracing the many skills that homeless refugees, for example, can bring to our local and national economy.
“Hadji is a case in point. He is a Syrian refugee who was employed at home as a truck driver.
“He will now be trained to have the appropriate UK qualifications and licences to allow him to operate as a local driver.”
Chic Brodie, former MSP for South of Scotland and Director of Caledonian Strategy Ltd, has helped facilitate the project, bringing the two participants together.
And his work for the last year with the Scottish Road Haulage group has proved key in making the scheme happen.
He said: “We are currently seeking local hauliers, large and small, to engage fully with the project.
“This can be a major game changer for Ayrshire and, once proven, is one we intend to roll out across Scotland.
“Scotland’s economy desperately depends on its exports and key imports and HGVs play a large part in this.”