How to fill the skills gap and to engage, develop and retain your staff will be top of the agenda at the forthcoming FTA Transport Manager Conference series.
Skills shortage in the freight and logistics industry has become more apparent. Not only for drivers and technicians, but also for transport managers – with a reported 34 per cent planning to quit their jobs in the next five years.
According to Senior Traffic Commissioner –Beverley Bell the role of the transport manager is often overlooked and is one that deserves greater recognition as it is one of the most important jobs in the entire transport industry.
The 2015 FTA Transport Manager Conference series – sponsored by Microlise and Volvo Trucks- is due to hit the road again on 9 September starting in Brands Hatch. Media Partner of the events is Commercial Motor whose managing editor Christopher Walton said:
“We are delighted to support the FTA and its popular Transport Manager Conferences throughout 2015. A good transport manager is vital to the running of any commercial haulage and logistics operation – and even harder to find too – so their development should not be overlooked. The FTAs conferences take place throughout the UK over the rest of the year, and will give the very latest information, guidance and best practice advice surrounding legislation and enforcement changes. We aspire to do this every week in Commercial Motor, so this is the perfect fit.”
FTA is also warning that the problem of driver shortage is a long-term issue – a thought shared by transport managers themselves who voiced their concerns over the lack of drivers and how to fill the gap of would-be drivers when they took part in a survey when attending the Association’s conference programme last year.
Delegates were asked to answer a ‘snap-shot’ survey relating to their own freight operations and were asked: “On a scale of 1-5 how bad is the driver shortage?”
The survey said:
• 67% of respondents reported driver shortage to be ‘very bad and seen as a major issue
• 60% of delegates replied that ‘it is bad and could impact Christmas deliveries’
• 57% of attendees said that it is ‘a potential problem in the longer term’
The programme for Transport Manager 2015 will include a keynote speech by the local Traffic Commissioner and presentations by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Highways England and Transport Focus.
The cost for FTA members is £295 plus VAT for the first delegate and £265 plus VAT for subsequent delegates; for non-FTA members £395 plus VAT for the first delegate and £365 plus VAT for subsequent delegates.
