Times are changing for drivers; make sure you are ready
Currently, there is a major deficit of lorry and logistics drivers currently in the UK with this expected to severely impact supply chains in the next few months.
At present, there are 100,000 driving jobs that currently have not been filled thanks to Brexit reducing the number of drivers from other parts of Europe. The past decade has been turbulent with low wages pushing around 85,000 licensed drivers out of the workforce and into other jobs. With even £1000 sign-up incentives not getting much support for the low wages.
Thankfully this will change soon due to the lack of drivers compromising the country's infrastructure. However to fully benefit you need to be ready for work and this is where a refresher course comes into play. To demand the best pay and benefits you need to show that you are ready and willing to work with the rust scraped off the proverbial wheels; a refresher course is the best way to achieve this quickly and effectively.
The great thing is that while you are conducting a refresher course you can get the benefits of also going for a higher rating. This allows you to pick your jobs much better than you could if limited somehow prior to the boom in demand. Time is on your side at present however you need to act fast to benefit the most from it and you could consider it as an investment in yourself that will drastically improve your income in the near future.
Skill & Experience in Short Supply
Driving any kind of vehicle is a challenge these days with more cars on the road, older infrastructure and more paperwork. While this sounds like a pain point and a reason not to drive, it is your way to more money. No matter what you end up driving it takes skill and experience and this drives wages. Logistics is the lifeblood of the UK, there is a demand and currently, a 20% deficit that gets worse by the day of drivers with the skill to deliver things that are critical to supporting a company needs.
A supermarket without food will not make money, nor will a manufacturing plant without its copper wire. The short-term driver deficit from Brexit is a mixed blessing. Sure December will be rough for stores but at best it is a great way to gain Christmas bonuses. Imagine a sign-on bonus, Christmas bonus and a wage better than white-collar workers.
Experienced drivers will make up the majority of drivers
An additional benefit from Brexit is that there was no long term thought about driver availability and as such no new drivers were trained to meet the demand. Meaning you could have spent many years out of the logistics industry but will still be part of the main number of drivers applying for jobs.
It takes a considerable amount of time to train a new driver with skill and experience coming with time; giving experienced drivers an inside track to wealth generation.
Family and familiarity
Being a driver for years and then leaving to go into other jobs can defeat the effort originally it took to build up the knowledge and experience that you had in the first place. Most drivers also drive to ensure their families get what they need and to work themselves out of difficult situations. This plan never really changes as circumstances will likely be similar. For some, it gives freedom of being on the road while for others it gives the validation of doing something constructive for their families and for the country.
Many people have thresholds for what they feel happy with in life, many drivers enjoy the fellowship of other drivers, being part of a larger family. The reality is that for experienced drivers, most have already gone through the worst moments of driving and learnt from it. Now you have an opportunity to benefit from these experiences and time invested in the logistics industry thanks to this oncoming supply shock now helping to shape a better future.
What the future may have instore
Currently, we have had a whole decade of inflation and financial success. Governments are currently looking at stopping quantitative easing and tapering. This will mean that jobs that are not key to the running of the country will have an issue in retaining workers.
The loss of jobs may mean a deflationary scenario occurring over the longer term and a hyper-inflationary scenario in the shorter term. This means that this is a great time to get into a job with great pay opportunities in key fields such as logistics. You could ride out the storm, make money and adapt to the changing sentiment if you have these types of jobs.
Currently, the better qualified and more experience you have could provide you with a £55k logistics job opportunity that could increase further in the near future to meet demand. Even in the great recession, there were lorry drivers while many others lost their income. In the long run after hyperinflation and pull back to a bear market you will likely be in a good position to buy things such as real estate and other assets due to a stronger currency.
Whether this will occur or the banks manage to keep the status quo it is likely you will be able to weather any storm and make your fortune from it as you go. While this article isn't designed to give you financial or career advice it hopefully gives you an opportunity to think about your future, and what it may be like in the logistics industry.
What you need to do next
It could be that you are two steps ahead and already have a job lined up but need to conduct a driving assessment for the job, or you could have passed in a wagon and drag but need to get used to an articulated lorry.
If that's the case then a refresher course such as a C+E refreshment training test could be much needed for your career success. In addition to this, there are HGV, LGV, CPC, and C1 driving tests that you could investigate according to your need.
Who to Trust with your Refresher Course?
After a few years or even decades off you may be wondering what has changed and what is new. You can expect that companies invest in the best equipment they can buy to ensure they can give you all the creature comforts as your cab is your office, nightclub and hotel in some cases. The reality is that although ergonomics change with time there is nothing to be too concerned with in terms of technology. The rules of the road have changed slightly over time along with how businesses work with documentation and deliveries. However, the biggest challenge is remembering how to get from A to B successfully.
A training centre should be able to offer you both training including both theory and practical aspects of driving. Along with using the best equipment to reflect what the trainee will experience on the road and provide the testing component without needing to excessively travel to different sites.
Thankfully most offer everything you need under one roof and meet the highest standards due to regulatory requirements. With many offering refresher courses already tailored to your exact needs and see many drivers in the same situation as yours who wish to get back in the cab.
Also Read: How to get Commercial Driving Licence in UK
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