RECRUITMENT CRISIS
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• I t is no exaggeration to say that the haulage industry is facing a driver recruitment crisis. In the financial year 1990/91, a total of 81,026 candidates took the Class I test. with 40,513 passing (pass rates tend to run at about 50%).
The crisis started to bite in the year [991/92, when the number of candidates passing the test plummeted to just 29,599. In the year 1993/94 that figure fell again. to 23,873. Over the next three years the figures rose slightly, with a total
of 31,126 people qualifying as HGV drivers in 3996/97.
But it was no more than a token increase: the long-term trend was downward. In the year 19 99 /2.00 0 the number of candidates passing the test was a mere 21,030-48% lower than in 1990. Many operators favour the time-tested experience that older drivers bring with them. But as those veterans retire, it is obvious that without fresh recruits trucks will eventually be standing idle.