“GOVERNMENT must prioritise the granting of 10,000 temporary work visas to encourage EU drivers to return to support the UK’s supply chain,” said Logistics UK. Exclusive analysis of the latest ONS Labour Force Survey Q2 has shown that 14,000 EU HGV drivers left employment in the UK in the year to June 2020, and only 600 have returned in the past year (by Q2 2021).
As Alex Veitch of Logistics UK explains, their departure has left a gaping hole in the workforce which needs a short-term solution to protect the UK economy.
“The industry is working hard to recruit new drivers, with the implementation of new apprenticeships and other training schemes, and working with DVSA to speed up its testing regime, but these measures will take some time to produce new drivers. Our industry needs drivers now, and we are urging government to replicate its temporary visa scheme, introduced for agricultural workers, for logistics to keep trucks and vans moving in the short term.”
