With an estimated shortage of around 90,000 HGV drivers in the UK - the skills needs to keep road freight moving are in huge demand.
The loss of European drivers through Brexit, Covid-related postponement of Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) testing, also known as Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) and changes to taxation regulations has resulted in the shortfall.
Add into that suggestions that nearly a quarter of lorry drivers expect to leave the industry in the next three years and the need to train and retain new drivers is a top priority.
The Road Haulage Association estimates that around 2,000 drivers are leaving the industry every week, often due to retirement, with only 1,000 new recruits joining over the same period.
And that's on top of the 20,000 European drivers that left the UK due to Brexit.
The Government has introduced a series of measures to combat the problem, including streamlining testing and investing in improved road stop areas.
How much can you earn?
Salaries for HGV drivers have soared - according to recruitment website Totaljobs.com, the average salary for a HGV driver is £32,500.
The average starting salary is around £19,000 rising to £36,000 according to Government figures. But there have been reports that some firms, including Waitrose are offering salaries of more than £50,000 - surpassing the average take home for lawyers and secondary school teachers.
How do you get free training?
The government has created new HGV Skills Bootcamps to train more than 11,000 people to become HGV drivers in England.
Skills Bootcamps offer free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks. They are available for adults aged 19 or over who are either in work or recently unemployed and live in England.
They give people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer.
These courses help applicants become a qualified heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver and get the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC).
If you’ve got a full car licence or medium-sized vehicle licence (category C1), these Skills Bootcamps will help you qualify to drive either:
- a rigid HGV (category C) - these are used for lots of commercial deliveries throughout the UK, some have loading access at the rear and sides as well as electronic tail lifts which makes them easier to load and unload
- an articulated lorry (category C+E) - these have 2 parts (the cab and the trailer the cab is pulling) and are mainly used in long-distance haulage or for the movement of large volumes of items as well as bulky or heavy goods.
Demand has been extremely high for Skills Bootcamps in HGV driving.
The Government website has a list of all the training providers in each region that are offering the free courses.
They also provide courses for drivers who want to upskill or return to driving.
Where else can I get training?
The Government is offering to pay up to £7,000 for logistics businesses to take on new staff under its Large goods vehicle (LGV) driver C and E (level 2) Apprenticeship scheme.
The scheme takes around 13 months.
There are hundreds of businesses offering the course listed on the Government website with a tool to search for apprenticeships in your area.
Who else is offering free training?
Some firms and recruitment agencies are offering their own free driver training, worth around £3,000 - £7,000.
North East logistics company Moody Logistics and Storage is funding its own HGV driver apprenticeships.
It took the decision to organise and fund the company’s own driver scheme after being advised that reviews under way as part of the Government’s 2021 Apprenticeship Reform Programme were causing hold ups.
Leicestershire-based Translink Express Logistics has been investing 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 £2,500 per person.
A scheme launched at Pall-Ex to upskill its warehouse workers has delivered its first graduate
The Pall-Ex Warehouse to Wheels programme was created to give warehouse workers the opportunity to progress into HGV driver roles.
Like most haulage businesses Pall-Ex – which is the UK’s biggest palletised goods network – has been affected by a driver shortage made worse by a combination of EU drivers leaving the UK due to Brexit and Covid; lockdowns holding up HGV training courses; and older drivers leaving the business.
The first graduate from the Warehouse to Wheels scheme was Kirill Sapelkin, who began his journey with the Leicestershire-based logistics company in 2018 as a forklift truck driver.
Last year, Pertemps Driving Academy was inundated with 10,000 applications after launching free HGV driver training worth £5,000.
In North Wales, Gatewen Training Services, based in Llay near Wrexham, is offering to train people up for free after getting funding from Welsh Government aimed at tackling the crisis. The training would usually cost up to £3,700.
A number of big name retailers and delivery firms have schemes in place including Co-Op and Aldi.
It has an ongoing recruitment scheme for its apprentice drivers. The course takes up to 15 months and the starting salary is more than £10 an hour.
