Fostering and nurturing talent. The key factors in the driver shortage

Driver shortages are a major problem throughout Europe, as reported in the media recently, with potentially dramatic consequences such as product shortages in England. Different transport associations put the shortage at around 80,000 drivers in England, 15,000 drivers in Spain, and around 400,000 drivers in Europe overall.

What are the reasons for this shortage? As with most problems, there is no single cause to explain it. One of the main problems affecting this profession is the stagnation of wages. In 2007, an international driver could easily earn over €3000. With the 2007-2008 crisis, many companies had to make major cuts in this area, other transport companies went to Eastern countries to start up their companies with lower wage costs, and other companies in the sector did the same by hiring drivers in Portugal. Today, an international driver has still not regained the purchasing power they had in 2008.

Working conditions are another problem. Drivers work alone, spending days and/or weeks away from home. So as not to waste money eating out, or in a bid to stay healthy, they fill up portable fridges and sleep in the truck cabin, having to tough out  cold winter nights in northern Europe, and hot summer nights in the south. They can’t just park their vehicles anywhere, so they look for service areas with CCTV so that thieves don’t break in and steal fuel or goods from their trucks overnight, and their stops are conditioned by the driving time set by the speed-o-meter. They also have to sit in long queues at loading sites and put up with many other inconveniences on the road, added to the sacrifice they have to make in their personal lives, spending long periods of time away from their families. Ultimately, it is an unattractive career option to younger generations and to any of us.

Faced with this issue, some suggest looking abroad for drivers as a way to solve the problem, but I personally have my doubts. Where should we look? What is the professional skill level of these drivers? Is there cross-country validation of driving licenses? Will these countries provide a pool of drivers that is large enough to solve the situation we are in? This measure was adopted in the past and was used to keep wages down. The way I see it, it could be a short-term solution, and will bring in drivers with low levels of professional qualification but might possibly perpetuate the problem we have.

A profession of the future

To my mind, the solution involves raising the quality of this job profile, greater professionalisation, and applying new technologies so that young drivers feel it is an attractive professional option. One clear comparison would be aeroplane pilots, who also travel continuously, dealing with impossible schedules and being away from their home and family. What makes this profession so attractive? What kind of salaries do pilots earn? What level of training do they receive?…

The financial incentives must be attractive enough to make it worth taking a job as a driver, taking into account the daily hardships and demands of the job.

We must also work to improve levels of professionalisation. With the introduction of new technologies, it is not enough just to drive. We have to know the risks involved in the workplace, understand the new technologies applied to distribution, and work with computer tools to optimise routes, deliveries, reduce waiting times, check over our vehicle as a work tool… a profile trained with this knowledge will be more employable, and will be more profitable for companies.

There are already trucks being tested that are fully self-drive. It is predicted that, within 10 years,  if legislative barriers are overcome, they will be able to create pre-defined routes that do not need a driver. Semi-autonomous vehicles to optimise driver breaks will also be key to renewing fleets of trucks that ensure a higher quality of life for the driver.

Finally, the government must ensure a legislative framework where the working conditions of drivers throughout Europe are uniform, and where the whole sector is assured to comply with legislation, providing an equal and fair framework of competition for all agents operating in the road transport sector.

José Pascual

Director of Human Resources, VASCO