New blood needed

Desperate shortage of lorry drivers –

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the road haulage industry.

Its net contribution to the Scottish economy sits at around £5 billion annually, which works out around 5% of the country’s total GVA (gross value added).

In terms of scale it remains the main method of transporting freight across the UK, moving around seven times as much goods than any other mode of transport.

In 2010, an estimated 116.8 million tons of goods were moved around Scotland alone.

More than 115,000 people work in the 12,400 businesses which operate in the Scottish logistics sector, accounting for 3.4% of the total business base in Scotland, with 2,100 of them concentrating solely on road freight.

So, all must be rosy within the road haulage camp, right? Well. The truth is far from rosy. Since 2007 the numbers of HGV and van drivers has dropped by 25% and in the 2015 Manpower Group Talent Shortage Survey, professional driver was No3 in the roles employers found hardest to fill.

Most drivers are aged over 45 and, given the industry is dominated (81%) by companies employing 10 or fewer, the road haulage industry is very much skewed to family-owned micro business.

The fact is estimates are that we are currently 45,000 drivers short in the UK to meet demands and we are losing more every year than we bring in.

If you still have difficulty picturing the scale of the issue, take a look around your home, your office, your wardrobe and your fridge.

About 85% of everything you have around you spent time on the back of a lorry. If we can’t get the drivers, then the stuff you buy can’t get delivered.

So why is it so difficult to attract new blood into an industry which offers long and rewarding careers?

Well it is fair to say that the barriers to entry are fairly substantial with the cost of gaining a C&E licence (needed to drive large vehicles) being anything from £2,500 to £3,000.

We at the RHA have for some time been raising this issue with the Scottish Government and feel that progress continues to be made, particularly regarding the funding for licence acquisition.

The same can be said about how apprenticeships are funded and how the current model does not fit with the requirements of this vital industry.

There is another argument about rest stops and facilities as well as the untenable situation facing hauliers in Calais.

But we at the RHA believe that anyone looking to enter the industry would find a modern, IT-driven industry with a myriad of career possibilities.

This is why we created National Lorry Week, which is designed to attract “the next generation” into the industry and to highlight the opportunities within.

The industry has its challenges, but it remains absolutely vital to the Scottish economy.

Without trucks you get nothing.

Around 85% of everything you have around you spent time on the back of a lorry. Top: A familiar scene as a fleet of lorries pound the highways. Right: loading up before the next journey. Left: Traffic jams can cause problems for tightly scheduled...