FTA Skills Summit: Signs of Progress in the Logistics Sector

Following the success of last year’s ‘Driver Crisis Summit’ the Freight Transport Association (FTA) hosted their second summit on skills and recruitment, ‘Attract, Recruit, Retain’, on 17th March, 2016. The conference suite of the Ricoh Arena in Coventry was packed with delegates from haulage operators, retailers, training providers, local authorities, government officials and of course recruiters. Over 500 registered attendees in all and a great platform for REC to promote the role of compliant recruiters and to showcase the Good Recruitment Campaign.

It was good to see a strong gathering of REC members at the event, including Euroforce who co-presented one of the ‘Masterclasses’ with our director of policy, Tom Hadley, on overseas hiring and good recruitment practices.

Here are some of the key messages from the FTA Summit:

Driver numbers have improved but finding staff remains a challenge

The latest ONS figures show an increasing number of HGV drivers – indeed, the number of drivers has grown at a faster rate than the economy as a whole. The number of HGV practical and theory tests conducted Q4 2015 was 21 per cent higher than in Q4 2014. However, despite these improving numbers the FTA still anticipate a shortfall of around 43,000 drivers in the UK economy.

Skills shortages in logistics are across the board, from engineers to technicians - so this isn't just about drivers, and this is supported by our monthly Report on Jobs data.

Progress is being made on both a practical and policy level

The conference wasn’t all doom and gloom. Sarah Muirhead from Wincanton spoke about some of the steps they have taken to address the driver shortage. Wincanton were short 400 HGV drivers in 2014, but following a new strategic approach to recruitment they now have only 62 unfilled vacancies. They have also hired younger drivers and sent them out on jobs with a ‘driver buddy’ who supervises them, which helps with insurance costs.

The Department for Transport spoke about their plans to try to increase the driver pass rate which is currently 55.2 per cent. They are also working to speed up the examination process by recruiting 195 new driving examiners by the end of the financial year. They expect waiting times to be halved by July.

The government is currently working on a loan scheme for licence acquisition. This is positive news which REC Drivers has been calling for, and was raised with the Freight Minister when we met him in November.

Apprenticeships – the long-term solution to driver shortages

Apprenticeship numbers in logistics industry are on the up, increasing from 4,000 in 2013/14 to 4,930 in 2014/15. However this is still a long way off the 7,620 logistics apprenticeships that were undertaken in 2011/12. The Level 2 LGV Driver Trailblazer has recently been approved and an increase in funding via the government’s new Apprenticeship Levy could encourage significant growth in the logistics talent pipeline. With 64 per cent of HGV drivers over 45 and less than 1 per cent under 25, more apprenticeships are increasingly seen as the way forward.

Agencies continue to provide a key role in the sector

Ian Stansfield, the former VP of Asda Logistics Services and Supply Chain, spoke about how drivers increasingly want to work in a flexible way to ensure a work/life balance. Specialist agencies provide work when and where drivers want it, and they enable employers to meet fluctuating demand - this was a core message in the REC’s Flex Appeal report. Agencies provide a life line to the logistics industry and we will continue to use our relationship with key organisations such as the FTA to take this message forward.

Addressing the skills deficit in the logistics sector is an ongoing challenge, but there are signs of progress and it is encouraging to see employers, recruiters and government coming together to find solutions. This was the overriding take-away message from the Ricoh Arena.

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