British logistics companies are taking steps to boost training, recruitment and pay, “yet there remains concern that some supply chain disruption will continue in 2022 until these crucial roles are filled across the industry,†According to the report.
Covid-19 and Brexit have created a “perfect storm†of unemployment and skills shortages that are roiling supply chains across the U.K., with substantial declines in truckers and forklift drivers that are showing early signs of slowing. Those are among the key takeaways from a report released recently from Logistics UK, a trade organization based in Kent that compared workforce figures between the April-June periods of 2019 and this year. It said Britain’s logistics industry employed 2.56 million people in the second quarter of 2021, of whom 11% were European Union nationals, down from almost 14% before in the second quarter of 2019.Â
With these there are some other highlights too:
1. There were 72,000 fewer heavy goods vehicle, or HGV, drivers — a drop of 24%.
2. While the number HGV drivers from the EU fell by 35%, there was a drop of 21% among U.K. nationals doing the job. Logistics UK said that by the third quarter this year, the number of drivers leaving began to ease.
3. There was a net increase of 19,000 van drivers amid 16.4% more British workers and a 45% reduction in drivers of EU nationality.
4. There was a fall of 32% in forklift drivers, representing 24% from the U.K. nationals and 49% from the EU.Â
5. Fifty-six percent of those in logistics occupations make less than £26,500 ($35,000) a year compared with 44% for the U.K. more broadly.
But pay is on the rise, Logistics UK said, citing online job-search engine Adzuna: The average advertised salary was £21,972 for forklift drivers and £19,995 for warehouse staff in November 2020. By the end of October this year, both had jumped more than 8%. Over that same period, vacancies for forklift drivers surged 169% and warehouse job postings were up 143%.
By the end of October this year, both had jumped more than 8%. Over that same period, vacancies for forklift drivers surged 169% and warehouse job postings were up 143%.
2022 Concerns
British logistics companies are taking steps to boost training, recruitment and pay, “yet there remains concern that some supply chain disruption will continue in 2022 until these crucial roles are filled across the industry,†According to the report.
Brexit row risks fanning inflation, pushing BOE rate rise But “with higher wages now helping to plug the gaps in employment for companies which can afford them and an increase in HGV driver tests of 25.6% and threefold increase in applications for vocational provisional licenses, there is hope that the shortage of HGV drivers will ease,†Logistics UK Policy Director Elizabeth de Jong said in a statement.
There was a fall of 32% in forklift drivers, representing 24% from the U.K. nationals and 49% from the EU.Â
