Did you know that the HGV industry is currently suffering from record lows of drivers? As older drivers retire from the profession, recruiters and companies are struggling to fill their vacancies, leaving haulage firms short of a vital component. The expected wave of new, young drivers simply hasn’t materialised, and now many business owners are looking forward to the Christmas delivery periods with nervous glances. But in such a male dominated industry, one of the most successful recruiting ideas turned the gender stereotype on its head and is aimed at attracting women to the HGV industry. It’s called Her-GV.
What is HerGV?
HerGV is a wonderful campaign that launched in June of this year designed to draw in more women to the HGV industry. The concept is simple – applicants first watch one of the many videos explaining the benefits of HGV driving as a career. Anyone wanting to change their career is encouraged to record a short video explaining why they want to become a HGV driver and upload it to the HerGV page. A panel of industry experts, including women from the haulage industry, will create a shortlist of applicants, and those shortlisted will be invited to a specialist event. During this event, they will be given tasks and activities to do, all of which will be fun and centred around HGV’s as a career. The winner of this fun day will be rewarded with up to £3,000 worth of HGV training absolutely free, giving them the chance to make the change and become a female HGV driver. The hope for the campaign isn’t just that the winner will become a HGV driver, but that all applicants and contestants will explore the opportunity and undertake the training themselves.
Why do we need HerGV?
According to studies done by the Road Haulage Association, it was discovered that only 1% of HGV drivers within the UK are women, and within the wider HGV industry their representation is still at a low 8%. Instead, the industry is dominated by mainly men over 40, who aren’t going to be around forever. HerGV aims to help not only solve the growing HGV driver crisis, but also equal the gender scales within the industry. One of the biggest supporters of this campaign is the M6Toll, which is run by Midland Expressway Limited and was designed to make it easier to transport goods across the country by road, as well as to make the lives of those transporting those goods easier. Along with M6Toll, HerGV has the backing of celebrity trucker Kara Rose and Le Mans driver and respected motor journalist Rebecca Jackson, all rallying to show women that the HGV industry is just as accessible and appropriate for them.
HGV driving offers some wonderful advantages over a basic desk job. You have the opportunity to travel to and experience new places, run flexible hours and take your pick of companies to work for, so you truly do have the power to make the best decisions for you.
And to those who think that the industry is still very male run – you’re right. But that’s the drive behind this campaign, it’s an imbalance that doesn’t have to exist, there is no reason for it to exist and with a bit of extra awareness, could create a lot more jobs and satisfaction for women and men out there.
At Rapier Employment, we specialise in recruiting HGV drivers for business across the country on a temporary and permanent basis. But those drivers don’t have to be men – we are proud to recruit HGV drivers of all ages, genders, nationalities, races and creeds and welcome them into the profession. So if you’re looking for a new career as a HGV driver, just get in touch with us todayand see just what could be in store for you.