Shortage of HGV Drivers?
Discussion
I have had my licence many years, lots of years of driving but circumstances meant I had to take a break. In 2022 was unemployed so started registering for work with agencies to be told as I have not driven in the past 12 months I am considered a new driver and I would not be covered by insurance to drive trucks.
Other opportunities happened but the contract came to an end in December and I thought see if I can gety any driving work, things might have changed, and they have.
Noow agencies and employers are requiring two years experience and 30 days driving in the last three months.
There is a shortage of drivers and business need to go abroad to find drivers!
Other opportunities happened but the contract came to an end in December and I thought see if I can gety any driving work, things might have changed, and they have.
Noow agencies and employers are requiring two years experience and 30 days driving in the last three months.
There is a shortage of drivers and business need to go abroad to find drivers!
There is no shortage of HGV drivers. There never has been. What there is, is a shortage of qualified HGV drivers willing to work for a lot of the laughable rates on offer, which means that such companies go crying to the government about a driver shortage, demanding that they let all the Latvians in who will work for them for NMW, otherwise they go out of business because they are only breaking even after paying the driver's wage. This is purely self-inflicted because in the never-ending race to the bottom, they bid stupidly low to win the contract(s), assuming (wrongly) that they could drop an ad on Indeed for HGV drivers at NMW and they'd be flooded with applications.
There isn't any work anyway. It's 90% agency ads just trying to bolster their books for if/when the work picks up later in the year. The other 10% are all the above ^ who treat their drivers like crap and pay crap, so advertise all year round.
There isn't any work anyway. It's 90% agency ads just trying to bolster their books for if/when the work picks up later in the year. The other 10% are all the above ^ who treat their drivers like crap and pay crap, so advertise all year round.
r3g said:
There is no shortage of HGV drivers. There never has been. What there is, is a shortage of qualified HGV drivers willing to work for a lot of the laughable rates on offer, which means that such companies go crying to the government about a driver shortage, demanding that they let all the Latvians in who will work for them for NMW, otherwise they go out of business because they are only breaking even after paying the driver's wage. This is purely self-inflicted because in the never-ending race to the bottom, they bid stupidly low to win the contract(s), assuming (wrongly) that they could drop an ad on Indeed for HGV drivers at NMW and they'd be flooded with applications.
There isn't any work anyway. It's 90% agency ads just trying to bolster their books for if/when the work picks up later in the year. The other 10% are all the above ^ who treat their drivers like crap and pay crap, so advertise all year round.
This!There isn't any work anyway. It's 90% agency ads just trying to bolster their books for if/when the work picks up later in the year. The other 10% are all the above ^ who treat their drivers like crap and pay crap, so advertise all year round.
3 years ago there was a shortage and crazy wages...dead in the home counties currently
There was data last year showing that the number of license holders had matched number of positions available.
I was chatting with a friend who saw his salary increased massively through 22/23. He was commenting that the rate for new starters now is the same as it was before the frenzy.
The costs to train have fallen a lot recently too.
I was chatting with a friend who saw his salary increased massively through 22/23. He was commenting that the rate for new starters now is the same as it was before the frenzy.
The costs to train have fallen a lot recently too.
Nope, I am a new pass class 2, I never intended to use my licence to be honest as I have a full time job but just always wanted to pass it as a fall back just in case. I jumped on the government grant.
I joined hgv jobs group on Facebook and, from looking on there I have concluded that there isn't a shortage at all, there is however a shortage of jobs paying a "decent" wage, lots of agencies looking for 2+ years experience while paying less than an Aldi shelf stacker.
There is a surplus of people who however dont read, a company/agency will post up a message saying " Class 1 job available in xxx town for xxx money, must have 2 years experience, if you are interested please contact us on phone/email" queue the usual responses, if only it was xxx town instead, id do it if i didn't live in the highlands, im available, im interested etc. well contact them then!!!
I was hoping to try find somewhere small and local that fancied giving me a bit of ad hoc work, but looking at the WTD and the fact I have done 10 overtime shifts in January with my normal job on top of my normal working pattern, I'm well outside of the WTD at the moment so driving would be a no go (I opt out of WTD for my other job).
I joined hgv jobs group on Facebook and, from looking on there I have concluded that there isn't a shortage at all, there is however a shortage of jobs paying a "decent" wage, lots of agencies looking for 2+ years experience while paying less than an Aldi shelf stacker.
There is a surplus of people who however dont read, a company/agency will post up a message saying " Class 1 job available in xxx town for xxx money, must have 2 years experience, if you are interested please contact us on phone/email" queue the usual responses, if only it was xxx town instead, id do it if i didn't live in the highlands, im available, im interested etc. well contact them then!!!
I was hoping to try find somewhere small and local that fancied giving me a bit of ad hoc work, but looking at the WTD and the fact I have done 10 overtime shifts in January with my normal job on top of my normal working pattern, I'm well outside of the WTD at the moment so driving would be a no go (I opt out of WTD for my other job).
Edited by the-norseman on Tuesday 30th January 09:09
r3g said:
There is no shortage of HGV drivers. There never has been. What there is, is a shortage of qualified HGV drivers willing to work for a lot of the laughable rates on offer, which means that such companies go crying to the government about a driver shortage, demanding that they let all the Latvians in who will work for them for NMW, otherwise they go out of business because they are only breaking even after paying the driver's wage. This is purely self-inflicted because in the never-ending race to the bottom, they bid stupidly low to win the contract(s), assuming (wrongly) that they could drop an ad on Indeed for HGV drivers at NMW and they'd be flooded with applications.
There isn't any work anyway. It's 90% agency ads just trying to bolster their books for if/when the work picks up later in the year. The other 10% are all the above ^ who treat their drivers like crap and pay crap, so advertise all year round.
Bang on. There might be loads of adverts ‘crying out’ for hgv drivers but as above it’s for agency books there’s minimal actual work. Plus it’s a very quiet time of year. Been lots of firms going out of business recently also seems a new one gone almost weekly. There isn't any work anyway. It's 90% agency ads just trying to bolster their books for if/when the work picks up later in the year. The other 10% are all the above ^ who treat their drivers like crap and pay crap, so advertise all year round.
If you really wanted a job I’d sack the agency off and go to your local firms in person, tell them your script about not driving for a while but are willing to go out with a driver trainer for a day, and say your happy with filling gaps for drivers on holiday/sick etc if you only want part time work.
Glenn63 said:
Bang on. There might be loads of adverts ‘crying out’ for hgv drivers but as above it’s for agency books there’s minimal actual work. Plus it’s a very quiet time of year. Been lots of firms going out of business recently also seems a new one gone almost weekly.
If you really wanted a job I’d sack the agency off and go to your local firms in person, tell them your script about not driving for a while but are willing to go out with a driver trainer for a day, and say your happy with filling gaps for drivers on holiday/sick etc if you only want part time work.
Trouble is ltd company self employed drivers are now a big no-no,should they skip town not paying hmrc then the company get chased....that and most need proof of negligence insurance that limited company drivers don't have/ cant affordIf you really wanted a job I’d sack the agency off and go to your local firms in person, tell them your script about not driving for a while but are willing to go out with a driver trainer for a day, and say your happy with filling gaps for drivers on holiday/sick etc if you only want part time work.
There never was a driver shortage, the above posts are spot on.
There was a scare (just one more version of operation fear) for a while which thankfully saw many drivers seeing much needed decent pay rises after years without any rise at all.
The good employers never experienced a shortage, they've never advertised and still haven't yet still manage to cherry pick because the good drivers are drawn like moths to a flame.
There was a scare (just one more version of operation fear) for a while which thankfully saw many drivers seeing much needed decent pay rises after years without any rise at all.
The good employers never experienced a shortage, they've never advertised and still haven't yet still manage to cherry pick because the good drivers are drawn like moths to a flame.
fttm canada said:
It's been two years experience for decades now , just gotta B/S your way around it . Offer an assessment with an accredited driving school if they doubt your ability . Failing that find a decent own account employer , plenty there for the taking .
It was 12 months Sept 2022!Went into Evri just before Christmas, they interviewed me over the phone, gave me work, when I went in got thrown out as I did not have the hours on my tacho card.
I am not sure what the situation with drivers is, according to an article I read the other day there are 35,000 HGv driver vacancies in the UK although I also read Tukey and China have a even greater shortage# than the UK, so ??? Might be off to China! Applied once to work in Sweden but heard nothing back.
As for number of people with HGVs, my cousin has a HGV licence but they are dairy farmers and the reason he has a HGV is they used to have a truck. I believe Princess Ann has one too, but not sure she is looking for a dribing job as she is near retitment.
BrownBottle said:
A few posters mentioning the same companies advertising constantly as they want to pay drivers peanuts.
What's regarded as a decent hourly rate these days worth considering?
Varies widely across the UK. Cornwall and the depths of Scotland still pay minimum wage, take it or leave it. The golden triangle area where there's a lot of competition can be upwards of £20/hr for weekday days. Agency typically a couple of quid more.What's regarded as a decent hourly rate these days worth considering?
r3g said:
Varies widely across the UK. Cornwall and the depths of Scotland still pay minimum wage, take it or leave it. The golden triangle area where there's a lot of competition can be upwards of £20/hr for weekday days. Agency typically a couple of quid more.
A quick google says the national average is around £15, does that sound about right for a full time employee with a half decent company?BrownBottle said:
r3g said:
Varies widely across the UK. Cornwall and the depths of Scotland still pay minimum wage, take it or leave it. The golden triangle area where there's a lot of competition can be upwards of £20/hr for weekday days. Agency typically a couple of quid more.
A quick google says the national average is around £15, does that sound about right for a full time employee with a half decent company?r3g said:
Yep, a £350 tax every 5 years for the privilege of being a proffeshunal driver.
To be fair most decent employers pay for these things, as well as medicals and any other expenses plus your time so doing, we do the courses in house and get paid a full days pay for the 7 easy hours.I find the DCPC sessions quite useful for keeping up to date and refreshing your memory re driving legalities, and the first aid module just might save some poor buggers life one day if you're the only bod on the scene, which considering the hours lorry drivers typically work they are often the first on a scene.
We don't have to sit through time wasting vidoes of plonkers on fork lifts doing plonker things, that would be a 7 hour drudge.
Smint said:
To be fair most decent employers pay for these things, as well as medicals and any other expenses plus your time so doing, we do the courses in house and get paid a full days pay for the 7 easy hours.
I find the DCPC sessions quite useful for keeping up to date and refreshing your memory re driving legalities, and the first aid module just might save some poor buggers life one day if you're the only bod on the scene, which considering the hours lorry drivers typically work they are often the first on a scene.
We don't have to sit through time wasting vidoes of plonkers on fork lifts doing plonker things, that would be a 7 hour drudge.
Mine wasn't paid for at the dairy I worked at; had to self-fund. But all my other driving work within the past 15 years was either as ltd or s/e so had to self-fund anyway.I find the DCPC sessions quite useful for keeping up to date and refreshing your memory re driving legalities, and the first aid module just might save some poor buggers life one day if you're the only bod on the scene, which considering the hours lorry drivers typically work they are often the first on a scene.
We don't have to sit through time wasting vidoes of plonkers on fork lifts doing plonker things, that would be a 7 hour drudge.
My issue with the CPC is the fact it's very clearly not about teaching you anything but instead just another government tax to extract c. £350 every 5 years from every vocational driver. If there was an exam to complete and pass at a high score level at the end of the tuition (phones/tablets/literature not allowed in the exam room to prevent cheating) then I'd be more accepting of it as there are a lot of drivers who don't have a clue about the hours regs. I suspect the reason for this is because they know half of the drivers would fail it and then they would have a real driver shortage to deal with.
There should also be hands-on practical tuition for stuff like load security and lashings, testing you on how you'd strap and secure a typical pallet network load with a 6ft tall pallet next to ones a third of the height. All this is stuff you have to figure out for yourself once out in the wild and imo is more important from a 'danger' perspective than exceeding your 4.5 hr drive time by 10 mins because you couldn't find somewhere to park after being sat for an hour in another motorway crash.
Of course I realise that to incorporate the latter would mean the course would be a grand rather than £350 and 99% of drivers don't care for any of it and just want the red tape sorted as cheaply as possible, but this is exactly what makes a complete mockery of it all. Either do it right and make it mean something, or don't do it all. But it's a government scheme, so naturally it's not designed to make any sense, it's designed to make them money.
Then there's the problems with the CPC trainers themselves. Some have the charisma and SOH to make the course a good laugh - usually the guys who have doing driving for a lot of years and have stories to tell, but others are boring asf.. and make it a real "drudge". My last one was with Atkins LGV at Drig' near Leeds and there was a young girl there doing the CPCs and she looked like she was barely out of school. She had very little real life knowledge of the industry and was dumbfounded when asked any question that wasn't on any of her projector slides. It was a horrible 35 hours to endure and actually was a big part of the reason for me to find other sources of income and get out of the industry. She did me a favour in a way as that's exactly what's happened and now my occasional truck driving is limited to moving trailers around in a yard and taking trucks and trailers for MOTs, neither of which require the CPC ticket.
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