James Lynch Driver Blog

More needs to be done to make lorry driving a more attractive proposition.

That’s according to our Transport Manager Greg Steele who’s overseeing a driver recruitment push.

You will have seen the huge amount of press coverage around the shortage of HGV drivers and the reasons behind it.

We’ve seen big hitters in the retail world and hospitality industry affected because there haven’t been enough lorry drivers to deliver the goods.

Only a few weeks ago one fast food retailer ran out of milkshakes because its supply chain had been hit – one of the reasons they sighted was the shortage of HGV lorry drivers.

Here at James Lynch, we too have been affected. We’ve lost eight drivers over the last six months and we’re looking to recruit their replacements.

Greg said: “It is difficult, and the driver shortage is real. Brexit has had an impact – as it’s meant there is a smaller pool of drivers available. I do think though more needs to be done to attract drivers into the profession. If you look at the motorway services for examples – the shower facilities really aren’t great, it can be expensive to buy a sandwich and it can be really noisy in the areas set aside for lorry drivers to sleep in. I think improving the infrastructure and making some changes in these areas would make a real difference.

“We need between six and eight drivers to sustain the level of business we can do. As it stands, we’ve already had to change our business model in order to cope. We’ve got to the point where we’ve had to turn work down because we haven’t got the drivers– which is potentially damaging for us. I just hope over the coming months that things change.”