Chance to retrain as an HGV Driver after millions in funding announced

Extra funding of £34 million for the Government’s skills bootcamps means up to 11,000 people can now retrain to become an HGV driver.

The Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership has welcomed the additional £34 million in funding for the bootcamps which was announced by the Department for Education on Friday December 10.

The courses are now open for registration, and as up to 500 more HGV driving tests are made available each week by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), it is hoped that the initiative will get more drivers on the road sooner.

HGV driver bootcamps are free, flexible, intensive courses of up to 16 weeks designed to train drivers to be road-ready and gain their licence, offering people the chance to launch well paid careers in the logistics sector.

Those who successfully complete the HGV courses are guaranteed a job interview with an employer and the first drivers are expected to be on the road from March 2022.

The Greater Lincolnshire LEP’s skills manager Clare Hughes said: “I’m pleased to see national funding rules for training relaxed in response to concerns and needs of employers. Many driver training centres around the country are now able to offer support, including the Modal Training Centre in Grimsby.”

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “The Government has worked tirelessly to tackle the driver shortage caused by coronavirus and years of undervalued wages. We have now introduced 32 actions to help get more HGV drivers on the road.

“It is good to see that these measures are clearly working, with the haulage industry reporting a significant increase in tests carried out and licenses issued. Now these training camps will provide a further boost for the sector as we work together towards its recovery.”

HGV drivers in the logistics and haulage sectors are vital to Greater Lincolnshire’s national and international connectivity, owing to its thriving ports industry, agri-food sector, and a vast number of rurally distanced business networks.

A full list of the bootcamps and their locations can be found here.