A.F. Blakemore & Son has helped 108 people obtain their LGV driving licence free of charge over the past year.
With the company covering all training costs and fees, 77 colleagues have gained a Class 1 licence and 31 have gained a Class 2 licence through the Blakemore scheme, with a further 34 people currently on a driver training programme.
Its two driver training programmes allow both employees and prospective employees with no prior LGV driving experience to train as Class 1 or 2 drivers. Class 1 upgrades are available for A.F. Blakemore colleagues with six months of service. Over the past 18 months, A.F. Blakemore has invested circa £250,000 in driver training, offering driver training opportunities at its distribution depots in the West Midlands, South Wales, Bedford and Wakefield. In the past 12 months alone, 78 new recruits have been taken on by the company specifically for driver training.
A.F. Blakemore logistics compliance manager Dave Higgs said: “The driver shortage in the UK is one of the biggest challenges facing the logistics sector. As a business we have been doing our best to step up to the challenge by adjusting our recruitment processes, reviewing driver pay and benefits and investing in driver training.
“Our training programmes offer both existing colleagues and new recruits a fantastic opportunity to progress their careers at the same time as ensuring a pipeline of qualified drivers to help the business remain profitable and sustainable for the long term.”
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