Young adults are among the least likely to consider a career in lorry driving, HGVtraining.co.uk has said.
It found that, based on 2,000 people across the UK, only 21 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds would consider a job as a lorry driver. In contrast, 38 per cent of those aged 25 to 34, and 35 per cent of 35 to 44-year olds would consider trucking.
The HGV training company said 50,000 new drivers are already needed by 2020, and the average age of a lorry driver is 57, so the ‘need for young blood has never been greater’. Common reasons for a lack of interest in the field include: a perceived lack of career progression, boredom and the cost of training to become a driver (around £3,000 for a CPC professional driver qualification).
According to the research, only 14 per cent of women would consider switching into HGV driving, and 34 per cent believed it was not a female-friendly industry.
“We can no longer bury our heads in the sand and hope the driver shortage is suddenly going to disappear. We already have a shortage – and these figures reveal it’s only get to get worse,” said Gary Benardout, co-founder of HGVtraining.co.uk. “Unless we can get more young people into the profession it’s obvious there just aren’t going to be enough drivers – and that’s going to have a huge impact for retailers, consumers and any of the myriad of businesses that rely on sending goods by road.”
