Training's the answer to recruitment problems

Oct 9 2007 by Evening Gazette

THE Road Haulage industry is intensely competitive, with every business doing its best to keep existing customers and to attract new business.

That new business, however, is likely to mean a loss of business for a competitor, so it has never been more important to ensure that the service offered is better in some way than the competition.

There are some 1,200 haulage companies in the North-east, plus a significant number of owner-drivers. More than half of the people who work in the industry are employed by the 50 or so firms that employ more than 50 people.

In addition to almost 7,000 people employed by the freight industry as truck drivers, there are nearly 5,000 more employed in other industries such as manufacturing, construction, retail and agriculture.

Much is made of the haulage rates that are charged and there always seems to be someone keen enough - or desperate enough - to cut rates sometimes by a ridiculous margin to get new business.

Does the customer benefit? I doubt it. No one can afford to offer gold-plated service at rock bottom prices, especially when there are other customers whose needs must be satisfied.

What can a haulier do to maintain a competitive edge in such a cut-throat market?

One of the greatest advantages any company can have - if not the greatest advantage - is a professional knowledgeable and highly skilled team of employees.

Any business that can rely on its staff to do their jobs efficiently can be confident that its customers receive a high quality service and will be willing to pay for it.

Despite this employers have difficulty recruiting people with the right skills, with half of businesses saying that very few applicants for any vacancy have the right skills.

This compares unfavourably with a national average of 30%, so what can firms do to get the edge they need if they can’t recruit people with the right skills?

The answer is obvious: existing staff must be trained to a high level and given every encouragement to improve their performance and their contribution to their employer’s success. There is plenty of evidence to show that there is real room for improvement.

Many employers only provide the minimum training to ensure compliance with legal requirements and few employees have formal qualifications.

The North-east in general and the Tees Valley in particular has a well established network of training providers and there is funding available to support training from the basic level upwards including a wage subsidy that is available to many smaller firms.

In two years time a new set of rules regarding on going training for truck drivers will come into force, and all drivers will receive refresher training. There is every chance that yet again, some employers will regard this only as an obstacle to be overcome. Other employers – the more successful ones – will ensure that the training makes a real contribution to their businesses.

In future the successful firms will be those who give their staff the right skills for the job.