Bring back common sense.

 People keep asking me why don't I come out of retirement and take a lorry driving job. I suppose I could, I am confident that I could still get in any lorry and drive it, even though it's been thirteen years since I last did so. Some things have changed though, the CPC, Certificate of Professional Competence,  is now mandatory for all drivers. 

I passed a CPC exam many years ago, back then it was for anyone who was thinking of going into transport management. I thought I might do that when I wanted a change from sitting in a cab to sitting at a desk. It never happened, I loved sitting in a cab. Nowadays the CPC is different, it was added to a list of training and qualifications a driver needed to get a job. Most of this legislation came from Brussels, supposedly to set a level playing field. It never did. 

Most of the drivers who came from other European countries have now gone back home, which has left us with a shortage. Another reason is that the industry is not training up new drivers. 

John Redwood asked the question in Parliament yesterday, why don't we train up new drivers. That seems like a common sense thing to say. Boris replied that they are doing all they can to get people back to work. Waffling and missing the point completely.

The DVLA is in such a disarray that applicants for a licence are having difficulty going through the process. The frustrations of jumping through many hoops, and the cost of training, around £3,000, is putting many would be drivers off. New applicants can't even get a provisional licence to start their training. Working from home, furlough, and pinging staff has put a spanner in the works. 

If companies need new staff, for any job, they should be investing in new training. If they can't afford it there should be grants available from the Government. Some haulage companies will take young people on in say, van driving or warehouse jobs, and put them through the system inhouse until they get the training and licences needed to handle larger vehicles. Sadly there are not enough of these places to cover the shortfall. 

We may see more empty shelves as time goes on if nothing is done to address the problem. More drivers are needed so set up more training centres, and cut out some of the hoops. I am sure people would step forward with the promise of a job afterwards. 

Government should understand the fact that the whole infrastructure is build around lorries and drivers moving goods about. Everything you see has been on the back of a lorry at some point. It's very short sighted to sweep the problem under the carpet. Put money into training to stop the country grinding to a halt. Train new drivers to replace the ones leaving. There's a bit of common sense for you. Are you listening, Boris. 

Thanks for popping in. Looking a bit dull outside, I am sure it will brighten up. 

Toodle pip.    ilona