HGV driver recruitment needs a jump-start from government, says Logistics UK

The government’s latest employment data issued on 17 July shows unemployment is at its highest level since June 2021 and has increased to 4.7% in the three months to May. The announcement comes as business group Logistics UK publishes the findings of its latest Skills and Employment Update and calls for a coordinated effort to address recruitment and retention in the logistics sector. 

Logistics UK’s Skills and Employment Update analyses data from the first quarter of the year and identifies pressing concerns regarding HGV drivers, where the average age is 48 years old, and more than half of the profession are over 50. In addition to demographic pressures, the report shows that transport operators are also facing significant difficulties in recruiting HGV drivers, with 14.5% experiencing severe or very severe issues. 

“An ageing workforce and inability to recruit is a recipe for potential disaster in the future unless action is taken now,” says Bethany Windsor, Skills and Head of Skills Policy at Logistics UK. “The situation is being made more difficult by recent government decisions to devolve effective initiatives at a time when a long-term national approach to recruitment and retention would be more appropriate.” 

Ms Windsor cites the government’s decision to discontinue centralised funding for the HGV Skills Bootcamp programme as “a case in point” explaining further, “The HGV Skills Bootcamp was launched in 2022 and has trained over 20,000 drivers, with a 72% job placement rate. It has been effective in attracting career switchers and the unemployed yet from this autumn, decisions on whether to continue funding the programme will shift from Whitehall to individual combined authorities.

"The sector needs a coordinated approach to recruitment; on behalf of our members, we are pressing the government and devolved authorities to work with industry to support training pathways to recruit, and address working conditions that affect retention, both of which are critical for stabilising and building resilience into the sector. The sector is also continuing to lead initiatives such as Generation Logistics to raise awareness of logistics careers and make roles like HGV driving more appealing to a younger and more diverse workforce."

The Logistics UK Skills and Employment Update Q1 2025 provides a more positive outlook for other areas of logistics and shows van drivers and forklift drivers are easier positions to fill, with 50% and 41.3% of businesses, respectively, reporting they expect “no problems” filling vacancies.