Speaking to NFT boss David Frankish about the operator’s plans now its under new ownership, The Hub was interested to hear that despite the chilled firm’s scale and reputation its CEO remains wary of what September’s Driver CPC deadline could bring.
“It’s on our radar,” said Frankish. “I’m sure at the smaller end of the haulage market the fact that there is a likely to be shortage [of drivers after the September Driver CPC deadline] will be an issue,” he said.
While Frankish sees an element of labour restriction as inevitable once September’s Driver CPC hits – agreeing with the view that at least a percentage of drivers simply won’t undertake the required training – he isn’t taking anything for granted.
Frankish is of the belief that the deadline can only can only “add to cost pressure”, which will naturally hit those unable to increase wages in line with expectations hardest, although ultimately it will have an upward pressure on all employers, including NFT.
Driver CPC to date
The most recent Driver CPC data show as of April 440,504 professional drivers have completed the process compared with 404,956 in March [this includes both HGV and PSV licence holders).
New drivers that have completed their initial qualification as part of their driving tests (having joined their respective industries after 2008/09) stood at 76,772 as of April [again, including both HGV and PSV].
DVSA's recently revised estimate suggests as many as 675,000 professionals may need to complete the process, although it recently conceded that it was "a broad estimate" and not a "definitive measure".