Swilly Group highlights Truck and Bus Driver Shortage

driver shortage

The shortage of Bus and Truck drivers has now become a serious problem in Ireland according to Brian Sweeney Managing Director of Swilly Group.  Brian said, “Truck and Bus driver shortage has been highlighted as a problem in the past but anecdotally we have noticed the situation getting worse, particularly in recent months”.

Brian continued “Swilly Group are now getting calls on a daily basis from Haulage and Passenger transport companies in search of new drivers”.  “New Truck and Bus drivers graduating from our HGV Rigid, HGV Artic and Bus/Coach driving courses are now securing a promise of employment in advance of getting their licence”.

According to a report by the International Road Transport Union (IRU) in 2023, driver shortage is a global problem with the low number of young people qualifying as Truck and Bus drivers failing to meet the growing demand. The IRU Global Freight Driver Shortage Report released in 2023 stated that in Europe 33% of truck drivers are over 55 years old and only 5% and younger than 25 years old.  The IRU are predicting the driver shortage problem to double by 2028.

Brian Sweeney stated, “Haulage and Passenger Transport businesses are now calling us , not looking for 1 driver, but looking for 3 and 4 new drivers”. “A number of years ago it was the other way around, we would have been calling Bus and Truck companies helping new drivers to secure employment”.  “The demand is high for Rigid truck, Articulated truck and Bus/Coach Drivers”.

Swilly Group has a suite of driver training courses available to help meet the demand for new drivers.  Brian said, “We have a number of attractive HGV-Rigid, HGV-Artic and Bus/Coach packages available to anyone who wants to do a crash course (pardon the pun!) and get their HGV or Bus licences fairly quickly”.   More information on each of the following courses can be found on the Swilly Group website:

Brian continued, “we have a fleet of high-quality Rigid Trucks, Articulated Trucks and Bus/Coaches available for learner driver training”.  “All our HGV and Bus training vehicles are automatic so it makes learning to drive so much easier”.  “We have a number 10 and 15-hour courses available at very competitive prices.  Our instructors are all RSA Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) and Swilly Group have an excellent pass rate.

 

Anyone interested in finding out more about the HGV and Bus Driving courses at Swilly Group should visit our website on www.swillygroup.com, email [email protected] or telephone (074) 91 51212 for more information.