APPG on Freight Transport report seeks to tackle funding and insurance issues for young drivers

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Freight Transport will call for an extension to the student loans system and cheaper insurance for young drivers to address the HGV driver shortage in its first skills report, MT can reveal.

Barriers to Youth Employment in the Freight Transport Sector, which is a draft document out to consultation with stakeholders, sets out the APPG’s thinking on the issue. “There is significant concern in the industry of the increasing average age of those working in the sector. It is of paramount importance that industry and government address this,” it stated.

The report also stated that despite the age to hold a Category C+E licence having being lowered to 18 some years ago, this has had “minimal impact” on encouraging young people to take up driving, with only family firms really taking advantage of this.

APPG adds in its draft report that despite those leaving education being able to technically become HGV drivers, thanks to the lowering of the age limit, the cost of insurance for under 25s means very few do. Government must therefore engage with insurers to develop a strategy to bring down these “exponentially higher” costs, it said.

The cost of vocational training, such as getting a licence, and lack of funding are also explored in the draft, with a recommendation that the existing student loans system be extended to cover this.

FTA skills policy development manager Sally Gilson agreed: “To help the industry attract HGV drivers long term, there must be student-style vocational training loans. Many sectors are experiencing skills shortages and these can be linked to the lack of funding in this area,” she said.

Other issues raised in the investigation included the need for a collective effort to raise awareness of logistics among schools, rather than numerous individual initiatives that, although positive, may “confuse” the message; also the need to improve logistics workers’ health and wellbeing and facilities available at the roadside.

The APPG hopes to present a finished version of the report to the government before the general election.

In response to the shortage of HGV drivers, the FTA will be holding an industry summit on 12 March at the Ricoh Stadium, Coventry, for government officials, HR advisors and experienced operators to work towards solutions to the driver crisis.