‘It will take at least 18 months to train 100,000 HGV drivers’

RHA chief executive Richard Burnett has told Sky News that it will take at least 18 months to train enough HGV drivers to tackle the current shortage.

The UK is short of around 100,000 HGV drivers, which is , as they struggle to get goods into shelves.

Richard explained that, given the amount of time required to train the number of truck drivers needed, it’s vital that the Government to put a number of short- and long-term measures in place to keep the UK’s supply chains flowing while this UK-based workforce is trained.

Watch Richard on Sky News here. 

To ease the pressure on the haulage industry in the short term, we have called for officials to rethink how self-isolation works for commercial vehicle drivers, and have also presented the Government with a 12 point action plan.

We’re urging officials to resolve the problems with the apprenticeship system for HGV drivers, add HGV drivers on Government’s Skilled Worker Shortage Occupation List as a short-term measure, and improving site productivity and the treatment of drivers at collection and delivery points.

While we’re pleased that ministers have agreed to , increasing the funding to £7,000 from 1 July 2021, there’s still a lot more that the Government must do.