As the economy and business start to return to something near to normal activity following the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, demand for deliveries of all sorts of goods has been increasing.

This has exposed a serious shortage of qualified HGV drivers, and it is made more difficult by the lengthy and complex training process in the UK, which can involve a significant cost as well as a multitude of different tests for various aspects of qualifying process.

We have been fortunate to take on a new driver despite this, but we support the Road Haulage Association’s (RHA) initiative to try to simplify the process and address the problems.

At the moment, even though there is an apprenticeship scheme, it is not suitable for smaller haulage companies and in any case, it is not attracting young applicants.

The RHA has proposed a 12-point plan to tackle the situation.

It includes including HGV drivers on Government’s Skilled Worker Shortage Occupation List, a seasonal visa scheme for qualified HGV drivers, continued priority driving tests for HGV drivers and establishing a ‘Return to HGV Driving’ scheme.

The full 12-point list can be found here.