Fleet operators have been advised to reconsider their shift schedules by Transport Minister Baroness Vere (pictured) in order to attract and keep a more diverse workforce.

She reminded attendees during a virtual presentation at the Microlise Transport Conference last week in Coventry that women presently hold only 22% of industry employment and make up just 2% of the total driver pool.

She continued, "People under 44 are underrepresented." "We must ensure that the sector is more appealing to them. Flexible working would allow the sector to attract a younger and more diversified staff because many households rely on two incomes.

According to recent studies, an articulated HGV typically travels 84 miles to complete a work. "So even on the busiest routes that would not take nine hours of driving on a 13-hour shift," Vere stated.

There are instances of your competitor businesses flexing shifts in an effort to keep drivers as their circumstances change. To ensure that the industry becomes an increasingly desirable place to work and that talented drivers are kept, this good practise needs to be spread across it.

In response to criticism that the government was not doing enough to address the sector's problems, she stated that 33 measures, including a recent £34 million investment in HGV driver bootcamps and a total investment of £52.5 million in driver facilities since the start of last year, had been implemented.

She also cited initiatives by the DVSA to increase testing capacity and improve the testing process, as well as work the government is doing with Job Center Plus to deliver HGV driver training programmes.