Recruitment drive to hire Polish truckers

Recruitment firm bosses want to hire Polish lorry drivers to fill job vacancies because of a shortage of Britons willing to take up the posts.

HR Go has been sending recruiters to the Ashford International Truckstop off the A2070 in a bid to talk with drivers from Eastern Europe to fill the empty posts.

The Kent-based company already has links in Poland with a subsidiary company called Eclipse which employs 50 recruiters.

They have designed bilingual posters to attract the attention of foreign drivers and posted flyers in the foyers at the truckstop.

Regional director Alan Wilkinson said: “We have a massive HGV driver shortage nationwide. There is a lack of people going into the industry for various reasons, including training costs and the need to qualify drivers for the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC).

“Older drivers are retiring rather than going through the CPC and younger drivers struggle to fund the training for their HGV licence. We are hoping this initiative will help the industry source new drivers.”

Darren Smith, general manager of Ashford International Truckstop with Alan Wilkinson, HR Go regional director