Opportunities for Female HGV Drivers

This year, Jodie Lawson became the youngest female lorry driver in the UK. Having started her training just months after her 18th birthday, the fashion student passed both her Class 1 and Class 2 HGV training in May. Growing up around heavy goods vehicles in the family freight transport business gave Jodie a foot in the doorway to start her career.

For young women not exposed to the industry, it can be a very daunting and male-oriented career path to follow. Jodie hopes that her story will give other women the confidence to “break the stereotype” and pursue a career as an HGV driver. For logistics businesses, the female workforce is a massively untapped resource. At a time when the industry is struggling to source LGV drivers due to considerable driver shortages, it has never been more important to approach recruitment with an open mind.

It’s not just young female drivers that the industry is hoping to employ. Whilst women still only make up around 2% of the current workforce in haulage, there has been a gradual rise over the last 10 years. Part of this is due to the changing attitude of businesses, as well improvements to facilities and vehicles. Whilst older lorry cabs were often incredibly basic, modern trucks are now equipped with all of the modern amenities that you would expect to find in a campervan.

In addition to general modernisation of the vehicles, the industry has clamped down on driving hours infringements to ensure that drivers are far safer on the roads. This has the added bonus of reducing the pressure on drivers to spend extended periods of time away from home. As a result, a career as an HGV driver has become far more accessible and a better option for female drivers.

Calling All Aspiring Young HGV Drivers

It’s not just women that the logistics industry needs to attract. With the average age of HGV drivers exceeding 50 years old, severe truck driver shortages are becoming a very real issue. Many businesses are already experiencing difficulties when sourcing HGV Class 1 and 2 drivers throughout the country, which in turn has a knock-on effect on the cost of goods and services, and the additional risk of impacting customer service and delivery times.

A number of businesses have started to introduce young driver schemes, providing the support and training to help young people complete Driver CPC training. At Drive Personnel, we understand that a massive barrier for younger drivers hoping to obtain their LGV licence is often the cost, which is why we offer reimbursed training to drivers that work with us for 12 months.

Get in touch with the Drive Personnel team today

Drive Personnel are a highly experienced driver recruitment specialist working with businesses throughout the Southampton and Eastleigh areas, and specialising in supplying Class 1 and 2 drivers on a temporary and permanent basis. To begin the search for your next driving job or to hire drivers for your business, contact us on: 023 8069 5600 or email info@drivepersonnel.co.uk

Our office is open 6am – 6pm, from Monday to Friday.

Drive Personnel is a specialist HGV driving agency in Southampton, providing temporary agency driving jobs to professional HGV drivers in Southampton and the surrounding areas.