The Freight Transport Association has called on the government to support logistics industry apprenticeships in its submission to a Transport Select Committee inquiry into skills and workforce planning in road haulage.
It said the government should ensure that apprenticeships are in place by 2017 to encourage younger people into the industry. It also wants to see the 24+ Advanced Learning Loan extended to enable financial support to fund licence acquisition.
A survey of FTA members in July found that more than 80 per cent of companies reported delays in being able to hire permanent LGV drivers. Almost a third indicated they suffered lengthy delays or were unable to fill vacancies and two-thirds reported problems hiring temporary drivers through agencies.
