Firestyle Magazine: Issue 5 - Autumn 2016

GENERAL INTEREST
Ladies wanting to take up
truck driving on the rise
Over 79% of ladies are keen to get behind the wheel of a lorry, and there is a rise in
younger women wanting to take up driving according to FTA figures.
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A Twitter poll carried out by the
Freight Transport Association, asked
ladies if they were willing to drive
a 44-tonne truck as less than one
per cent of truckers are currently
female. Seventy-nine per cent
of respondents voted ‘yes.’ As a
result FTA now says it is important to
explore why more women aren’t
coming into the industry.
Around 2,200 of the 315,000
registered truck drivers in the UK are
female, but recent statistics show
that the gender balance, and
younger women wanting to enter
the profession is improving with 15
per cent aged between 21 and 25.
Sally Gilson, FTA Skills Policy
Development Manager says:
“These figures are encouraging as
it is essential that more women are
recruited currently only one per
cent of HGV drivers in the UK are
female.
“We believe that one of the biggest
barriers for would-be truck drivers
is the cost of gaining a licence
and training at around £3,000. FTA
has been calling on Government
to provide a suitable loan system.
The current Personal Career
Development Loan option is not
appropriate and a simple change
to allow Level 2 qualifications to be
included within the 19+ loan would
provide the quickest and best
solution.”
Solving the current shortfall of
over 45,000 HGV drivers is a major
campaign for the Association,
an issue recently recognised in
a Transport Select Committee
report which quoted FTA evidence
reflecting difficulties logistics
operators face in recruiting drivers.
The FTA Logistics Report 2016
shows that more than 64% of truck
drivers are over 45 – the average
age has steadily increased over
the past 15 years and problems
with filling vacancies are high on
our members’ list of priorities. This
has been compounded in recent
years by the consequence of
economic growth and the huge rise
in e-commerce. Lack of funding for
vocational training for drivers means
fewer are joining the industry and
there is a real risk that the shortage
of HGV drivers could severely
impact the economy.
The Freight Transport Association
can trace its origins back to 1889
and is recognised as the voice of
the freight and logistics industry,
representing the transport interests
of companies moving goods by
road, rail, sea and air. FTA members
operate over 220,000 goods
vehicles - half the UK fleet - consign
over 90 per cent of the freight
moved by rail and 70 per cent of
sea and air freight.