Free trucking training offer closes after 10,000 apply

MORE than 10,000 would-be truckers have bombarded a job agency with requests for free training amid a national shortage of drivers.

Demand has been so heavy that Pertemps had now closed the offer.

The company’s driving division, based in Hagley Road, Edgbaston, had been offering free training to entice new recruits into the industry.

The firm said more needed to be done to keep experienced truck drivers behind the wheel – and improving conditions for drivers and giving them “more respect” should be at the top of the list of priorities.

The agency said many qualified and experienced drivers had left or were planning to leave their roles because they were fed-up with the way they were treated – often at the point of drop-off for customers and the general public.

Initial findings from a survey which began in August showed 91 per cent of truckers in the UK believed they did not receive enough respect for the job they did.

Samantha Leleu, Pertemps general manager for the Driving Division, said: “There is a known driver shortage, and the noise has mostly been about attracting new talent to the sector. But what about those experienced drivers who have just had enough of difficult working conditions, and disrespect from customers and the public?

“They deserve better and it is the least we, as employers, can do to try and help as the UK seeks to address a shortage of 100,000 HGV drivers.”

She added: “We surveyed more than 2,500 drivers and 91 per cent of existing lorry drivers feel they are treated with disrespect.

“In addition, 69 per cent do not think working conditions are good – and it is the more experienced truckers more likely to be disillusioned with their roles.

“Some people may point to the fact that pay rates have gone up significantly recently, but that does not compensate for years of being underpaid a decent going rate and treated like a nuisance when making deliveries.”

Pertemps told the Post that Brexit, the pandemic, qualification shortages and an early Christmas peak had hit local businesses ‘‘like a tonne of bricks’’ - and it was not just the haulier industry that had been affected.

Call centres, hospitality and recruitment are among the other sectors struggling to fill vacancies.