commercialmotor.com/latest-n … tage-worse
And they blame the Driver CPC!
I though it was the agencies that had created the driver shortage by leaching wages and turning proper jobs into temporary positions.
You learn something new every day.
There are so many problems with that article I don’t know where to begin.
Driver CPC training is exacerbating an acute driver shortage within the industry, with the situation likely to get worse as September 2014’s completion deadline looms, recruiters and training providers have warned.
Recruiters and training providers saying there’s a driver shortage? Well who’da thunk it eh. No VI there then, right? 
Demand has been strong all year at Bigfoot Recruitment, according to training and compliance manager Simon Haines. “We’ve been flat out since January. There is a lack of good drivers. We’ve interviewed 70 people in the last six weeks and only taken five.”
Actual truth : Plenty of good drivers but 5 eager newbs were happy to work for the 7.5 buttons per hour straight through that you offered them and the other 65 told you to shove your buttons up your arse. 
Hauliers are increasingly only accepting drivers who have completed some or all of their CPC training ahead of the deadline, he added. “Employers will not look at you now unless you have a minimum of three modules.”
Sorry but 
Richard Owen-Hughes, group marketing director at recruiter and trainer Driver Hire Nationwide, agreed that driver training was adding to the shortage: “There’s certainly a flight to quality, and employers are starting to see CPC training as a measure of quality.”
Recruiter Driving Force said it was struggling to find drivers to meet a sudden spike in demand. Operations manager John Sutcliffe said: “It really picked up two weeks ago. I could have 20 more drivers all out working now. “We are getting clients saying ‘get me three, four, 10 drivers for tomorrow’ . ”
Driving Force’s training partner Chevron is booked solid for the next three months for CPC courses, said Sutcliffe, warning that the approaching deadline would take more drivers out of their cabs and into the classroom in the coming months, adding to the shortage.
Owen-Hughes added: “I don’t think there’s panic yet, but there are people out there who have done absolutely nothing at all. “The maths tells you some people are going to get caught out. It’s going to be the last-minute [ones] who get caught out.”
Nope. Dream on. Or explain to me why CPC training companies will quite happily reduce their prices to match or undercut their competitors when you tell them how much you can get it elsewhere. If they were all “booked solid” like they claim then why are they happy to cut their prices to get more work?
A recent Interim Evaluation report into Driver CPC carried out for the Driving Standards Agency estimates drivers still need to complete approximately 700,000 to 860,000 training days before the 2014 September deadline.
In April it was revealed that foreign truck drivers who do not comply with Driver CPC requirements when driving in the UK will effectively only ever face a £30 roadside penalty — though UK drivers in the same situation could face fines of up to £1,000 as well as possible action against their driving licence.
Very poor article by Mr Andrew Stone. In fact it isn’t even an article at all; it’s merely an advertisement for Bigfoot Recruitment, Driver Hire, Driving Force and Chevron DCPC that have been fluffed out to make it look like a newsworthy article.
Rob K:
Very poor article by Mr Andrew Stone. In fact it isn’t even an article at all; it’s merely an advertisement for Bigfoot Recruitment, Driver Hire, Driving Force and Chevron DCPC that have been fluffed out to make it look like a newsworthy article.
Well of course it is. I’ve yet to read any press release from any service company which isn’t more hot air than fact. It’s called marketing and that’s what they 're good at.
It’s not aimed at drivers anyway, but at clients, and the end-game is to get them to up the rates.
If I ran an agency, I’d be inclined to up the rates anyway and get all the competent drivers.
A bit like Henry Ford putting half the car manufacturers in Detroit out of business by advertising higher wages than he knew they could afford to pay.
GasGas:
If I ran an agency, I’d be inclined to up the rates anyway and get all the competent drivers.A bit like Henry Ford putting half the car manufacturers in Detroit out of business by advertising higher wages than he knew they could afford to pay.
But where will you put all those drivers? No client will ring you because your rates are too high so they ring Button Drivers Ltd instead who can supply them with 10 muppets for £3/hr less than you because they’re only paying their muppets 7.5 buttons per hour straight through. Vicious circle I’m afraid…
Sidevalve:
Rob K:
Very poor article by Mr Andrew Stone. In fact it isn’t even an article at all; it’s merely an advertisement for Bigfoot Recruitment, Driver Hire, Driving Force and Chevron DCPC that have been fluffed out to make it look like a newsworthy article.Well of course it is. I’ve yet to read any press release from any service company which isn’t more hot air than fact. It’s called marketing and that’s what they 're good at.
It’s not aimed at drivers anyway, but at clients, and the end-game is to get them to up the rates.
No different to the recent thread on here about when the red tops have a jobs pull out offering loads of hgv work at good rates encouraging people to spend 2-3k on getting there hgv to find out its not quite that simple.
Rob K:
GasGas:
If I ran an agency, I’d be inclined to up the rates anyway and get all the competent drivers.A bit like Henry Ford putting half the car manufacturers in Detroit out of business by advertising higher wages than he knew they could afford to pay.
But where will you put all those drivers? No client will ring you because your rates are too high so they ring Button Drivers Ltd instead who can supply them with 10 muppets for £3/hr less than you because they’re only paying their muppets 7.5 buttons per hour straight through.
As has been discussed here some firms will pay a premium for a driver either employed or a temp as they need to know the job will be done right but so much hgv work now is litrealy a to b and pretty much any idiot can do it and this drives down wages.
Funny enough i was talking to my boss a while back when he was looking for drivers and he pays decent wages and he said i can find plenty of drivers just hardly any who id even trust to do a paper round.
Somebody at CM news had nothing better to write about today, all we seem to get nowadays is all this bs about a shortage that clearly doesn’t exist & won’t for many many years to come…#■■■■■■
Pimpdaddy:
Somebody at CM news had nothing better to write about today, all we seem to get nowadays is all this bs about a shortage that clearly doesn’t exist & won’t for many many years to come…#tossers
Today only?! I first picked up a copy of CM when I was about ten. The world was coming to an and and there was a shortage of drivers. Last week I was looking idly looking through it in the newsagents, same guff - different lorries. Honestly, I don’t know how people buy it every week, I’d be suicidal if I did.
So would I, that’s why I don’t buy the ■■■■■■,journalists are full of ■■■■!
Gas gas on the money again, I’d rather say to an agency, I’ll pay you £1 per hour above the going rate and send the cream to me who ain’t going to crash my motor, upset my customer or be late in to work, send the muppets elsewhere.
Silver_Surfer:
Gas gas on the money again, I’d rather say to an agency, I’ll pay you £1 per hour above the going rate and send the cream to me who ain’t going to crash my motor, upset my customer or be late in to work, send the muppets elsewhere.
Silver, those of us that are good s/e drivers would like nothing more, but as I’ve said before, the agencies have got most of the temp market sown up tighter than a duck’s arse. EVERYONE wants good drivers but very few places are willing to pay.
That’s true Rob but there are the minority who will pay a premium for a bloke who cares about the job he is doing & is competent, you just have to find them through determination & or luck.
Rob K:
Silver_Surfer:
Gas gas on the money again, I’d rather say to an agency, I’ll pay you £1 per hour above the going rate and send the cream to me who ain’t going to crash my motor, upset my customer or be late in to work, send the muppets elsewhere.Silver, those of us that are good s/e drivers would like nothing more, but as I’ve said before, the agencies have got most of the temp market sown up tighter than a duck’s arse. EVERYONE wants good drivers but very few places are willing to pay.
the irony being that they can get drivers they know for a bit more than the agencies pay but cost them less. ie you go in and say the agency is paying me £10 and hour and charging you £20 an hour. you pay me £12 an hour and i will work for you directly. head office somewhere says they cant do that though because its easier to make one phone call to get 20 drivers than make 20 phone calls. even though occasionally they do phone me directly and ask if i am free for a short notice job. they know that we are more likely to help them out than the agency so if we cant be arsed we will turn down the agency but accept the clients request for the exact same shift
If there really was a shortage then newly qualified drivers would be walking straight into a job after passing and Govt training agencies would be offering major help for those out of work to get the licences
Maybe if agencies didn’t treat drivers like crap, talk down to their employees and treat them like idiots when without them they’d be unemployed.
If this was all about “withdrawn drivers doing modules among full timers” then we’d be snowed under with bitty shifts one here, and one there.
That’s not the case though is it?
I’ve been working over my average for weeks now, and am getting a bit fed up with knocking back third party agencies who keep ringing me when I’m sleeping off another shift at my main agency.
Time to up my minimum rate I think! 
There’s plenty of shifts out there right now - but still no full time contracts to pick up, even at the same depots. 
scanny77:
Rob K:
Silver_Surfer:
the irony being that they can get drivers they know for a bit more than the agencies pay but cost them less. ie you go in and say the agency is paying me £10 and hour and charging you £20 an hour. you pay me £12 an hour and i will work for you directly./quote]In which world is this?
A company would never pay £20 p/h for a £10 p/h driver
Agencies normally work on 1/3 mark up, this has to include paying Mrs. BigTits, Drivers Neg Cover, phones, office, cars …
Its a good number but you will not see many agency owners hitting £1 million in the bank every week
trubster:
scanny77:
Rob K:
Silver_Surfer:
the irony being that they can get drivers they know for a bit more than the agencies pay but cost them less. ie you go in and say the agency is paying me £10 and hour and charging you £20 an hour. you pay me £12 an hour and i will work for you directly./quote]In which world is this?
A company would never pay £20 p/h for a £10 p/h driver
Agencies normally work on 1/3 mark up, this has to include paying Mrs. BigTits, Drivers Neg Cover, phones, office, cars …
Its a good number but you will not see many agency owners hitting £1 million in the bank every week
i dont know what they charge so it was just an example to make my point ie they could source cheaper labour without the drivers losing out. an agency is just a middle man which keeps a drivers rates down and the companies costs up