£10 million expansion: Insite training addresses Southern UK driver shortage

The UK has been facing the brunt of the driver shortage, which peaked in 2021. This shortage was further fuelled into distress by factors like the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit issues and changes made to the IR35 taxation rules. The steep shortage in drivers is attributed to existing drivers leaving the industry, coupled with a shortage of new drivers entering the industry. To address these concerns, the UK government launched programmes to encourage skill training institutes like Insite that play an active role in skill training new HGV drivers.

Nationwide Shortage of Skilled Drivers

Reports suggest that over 100000 HGV driver shortage deeply impacted the logistics within the UK. A report done by the Nationwide Vehicle contracts summarised the pass rates of LGV drivers across UK.

The success of e-commerce as a business and home delivery options has increased demand for skilled HGV drivers. While some drivers chose early retirement, and decline in onboarding of new young drivers has made the situation dire.

Solutions to combat with driver shortage in the Southern UK

The government extended £10 Million Expansion funds to trusted HGV training schools. Institutions like Insite training have been at the forefront of combating this challenge. Government funding incentivises new and upcoming drivers to learn the necessary skills to get an HGV licence

Companies like HGVC have been awarded £10 Million to train 1800+ candidates to ensure the employers can upskill their existing staff. This includes helping with

• Category C (rigid lorry) licence,
• Category C+E (articulated lorry) licence or
• Assisting Category C licence holders to upgrade to a Category C+E.

This funding has been a gamechanger in changing the driver shortage issue the logistics landscape in UK faces. This programme has been extended until February 2026, further assisting new drivers to enter the UK supply chain network.

How Funding Helps Drivers & Employers?

Funding empowers existing drivers to upskill their driving prowess to larger vehicles. In large organisations with over 250 employees, this scheme plays a crucial role by offering employers up to 70% assistance in HGV driver training through DfE. While in small to medium businesses under 250 employees, up to 90% subsidy is available.

Closing the Driver Shortage Gap with £10 Million Funding

Since the programme's launch, over 1800+ drivers have been trained with over 1100+ drivers getting deserving salaries. There has also been a significant rise in women and people for ethnic minority , young individuals joining the logistics systems. Funded Training & upskill initiatives such as this is pivotal to the growth of the industry.

“The landmark decision by the UK government to fund £10 Million to upskill drivers will create a positive ripple in the UK logistics landscape. In addition to strengthen skills, creating jobs, this initiative also encourages equality and uptake of people from diverse walks of life to enter the HGV industry” says Gary, CEO of Insite Training, a leading HGV training institute in the UK.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the AJOT editorial board or Fleur de lis Publishing, Inc. and its owners.