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Road transport sector’s need to speed up efforts to attract an inclusive and diverse workforce.
The IRU RoadMasters Forum brought together almost 150 people from along the entire transport value chain, from shippers and logistics providers through to transport operators and international organisations.
The event highlighted the road transport sector’s need to speed up efforts to attract an inclusive and diverse workforce, against a backdrop of persistent skills shortages and difficulties for potential candidates to enter the driving profession.
The latest annual IRU driver shortage survey report, as well as how the European Commission’s upcoming package on attracting skills and talent to the EU via legal migration could benefit our industry, both attracted keen interest and discussion.
There was a consensus view was that policy makers need to act, notably by reviewing current conditions on how people access the profession. However, the industry itself also needs to act in driving a genuine transition towards a more inclusive and diverse workplace.
Mark van der Drift, CEO of Cornelissen, said: “My successor as CEO will be a woman. To get a company that is successful in managing gender balance, you cannot solely focus on drivers, the whole organisation needs to get balanced. To be successful in working with women, think about building a women-friendly culture. Listen and be creative and open-minded, invest in promoting women in the driver profession.”
Koen Vandevelde, Quality Manager at Ninatrans, said: “You have to treat young drivers differently than your more senior drivers, as they have different values. We perceive that young drivers like competitions, thus to retain them we organise driver competitions, ranking them and rewarding them with gifts. You also have to review your training models to ensure more engaging ways, notably by using more visuals, balancing in-class training with practical exercises and role-plays.” Read more
Source: IRU
