The transport industry has been in the headlines heavily this year regarding its driver shortage, mounting training costs and the adverse effect all this is having on the UK Supply chain.
There is a national truck driver shortage, estimated to be in the region of 45,000. And with over 35,000 existing drivers due to retire in the next two years, the situation is deteriorating fast, ‘
RHA, June 2015'
So what's a company to do when 60% of all LGV drivers in the UK are over 45 and only 2% are under 25? You go back to the good old days and promote Apprenticeships.
Welch's Transport Ltd was founded back in 1934 by two brothers and one 3 tonne Morris Petrol Truck. Today the Welch Group employees over 150 industry professionals across 6 sites, and last year saw its fourth generation Welch family member join the firm. In January this year, Welch’s Transport held its inaugural Apprenticeship Open Day in response to the UK’s shortage of professional LGV drivers.
From the attendees, three young and enthusiastic candidates were selected and quickly welcomed into the Welch’s family. The second, Duxford open day in June saw two more new apprentices recruited into Welch’s Transport and Welch’s Specialist Movements demonstrating the wide-ranging skills on offer to the right candidates. Along side this our Commercial division accepted 3 mechanical apprentices from Cambridge Regional College (CRC). Having just held the first, well-attended open day at our Henlow, Beds depot, Welch's are well on there way to breeding a new generation of professional industry drivers. The 12-month, structured phase of learning is provided by Norfolk Training Services and unlike many apprenticeships, the pay scales during training are determined by market rates rather than being capped at normal apprenticeship rates so all the candidates are learning lifelong skills while earning a fair wage. And to show it is working, out of the original three, two are now out on the road regularly having passed their Class C driving test in August and are continuing to reap the benefits of the formal, certified apprenticeship.
The next Apprenticeship Open Day is on January 16th at our flagship Duxford depot. If you are interested in beginning a new career with a well-established, professional and profitable company, please register for the January 16th event by e-mailing [email protected] or by visiting the Welch Group Website Apprenticeship Page.