The company said the move is “part of a comprehensive strategy to attract new talent and keep vital recycling and waste collections moving for communities”.
A shortage of qualified HGV drivers has been reported across the UK. For the waste sector, this has caused delays and cancellations to collections across the country.
The driver shortage has been put down to a combination of factors from Brexit, Covid-19 and a testing backlog.
Efforts
Veolia has been ramping up its efforts to recruit workers in recent weeks, and earlier this month also called for parents to consider a career as an HGV driver (see letsrecycle.com story).
Beth Whittaker, chief human resources officer at Veolia, said: “We hope the incentive will encourage drivers to consider working with us. People that I speak to in our business are passionate about what they do because our roles are different.
“Our teams are doing something that matters for communities and delivering a service that makes a real difference for the environment every day. We can offer part-time positions if wanted and a really good lifestyle – no overnights, no long-haul or overseas, so ideal for family time.”
Other waste management companies have also attempted to incentivise new drivers, such as Suez, which has offered HGV drivers a £1,000 bonus to join its workforce in Somerset full time.(see letsrecycle.com story).
Shortage
Before the pandemic, the Road Haulage Association predicted a shortage of about 60,000 drivers. Veolia said the association now estimates this to be over 100,000 across the UK.
Veolia is reporting an average of 15% vacancy rates for driving roles and said it is proving “very challenging” to fill this resourcing gap given the dynamics of the waste and recycling labour market.
Earlier this month, the waste and recycling sector wrote an open letter to the home secretary expressing concerns about a shortage of trained HGV drivers across the waste sector (see letsrecycle.com story).
Others in the industry are calling on the government to introduce a temporary worker visa for HGV drivers and consider including them on the list of skilled occupations, to help curb the shortage.
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