A North Wales firm has cash to offer free trucker training worth thousands of pounds in a bid to help relieve the shortage in the sector.
The lack of qualified HGV and LGV drivers was highlighted before Christmas with deliveries of fuel and food hit.
While it is now out of the headlines the Road Haulage Association (RHA) has warned of a shortage of around 100,000 drivers and said the issue has not improved.
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It comes as more drivers leave the industry due to retirement and other factors than are joining as well as European drivers leaving the UK after Brexit.
But training is expensive with people having to fork out thousands of pounds to get qualified.
Now Gatewen Training Services, based in Llay near Wrexham, is offering to train people up for free after getting funding from Welsh Government aimed at tackling the crisis. The training would usually cost up to £3,700.
There are though conditions on who can apply.
- Candidates must live in Wales, and;
- Be earning less than £29,500 per annum
The funding is available to prepare either new drivers for the Cat C (Rigid Vehicle) test or experienced drivers for the Cat C+E (Articulated Vehicle) test.
There is no lower or upper age limit but people need to sign up required by the end of March, although training can be after that date.
A spokesman said: "The UK’s lorry driver shortage that received a lot of publicity prior to Christmas has not visibly got any better.
"The average age of a driver in the UK is 55 with less than 1% being under the age of 25.
"Approximately 2,000 drivers are leaving the industry every week, often due to retirement, with only 1,000 new recruits joining over the same period.
"Approximately 20,000 European drivers also left the UK for 'Brexit reasons'"
Gatewen Training Services themselves have just celebrated an impressive milestone having provided specialist commercial driver training throughout North Wales and the North West for over 50 years.
They are fully committed to creating training and job opportunities for people around North East Wales and some of their delivery team were at HMP Berwyn a couple of weeks ago supporting the Road to Logistics Employment Drive.
In the near future, Gatewen will be delivering LGV training on behalf of Road to Logistics whilst helping HMP Berwyn to engage with local employers and the aim of this initiative is to help men who have completed their sentence into employment and by doing so reduce reoffending rates.
Gatewen have recently been awarded the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Silver Award and also in a drive to offer mental health help and support to local men, they have set up and sponsor a men’s mental health charity https://www.pwrpas.com/.
It operates as a hub with its primary aims being to raise awareness of the mental health challenges faced by men, engage with men and encourage conversation, and to signpost men to appropriate support.
