The Valencian Federation of Transport and Logistics Entrepreneurs (FVET) has consulted the statistical registry of the Valencian Community to appeal to those 54,100 young Valencians who are unemployed and invite them to become transporters. They also appeal to the figures to remember that, of the 838,995 drivers in Spain, only 0.4% are under 25 years old, while half of the drivers are over 50 years old and one in three is between 55 years old. and 65 years old. “These are figures that, with the reactivation of demand, are going to pose a real problem. We need to accompany the economic recovery with carriers that can respond and satisfy the needs of the supply chain,” says Carlos Prades, president of the FVET.
The entity believes that there is a lack of transporters due to lack of knowledge of the sector, its conditions, but also due to the initial cost of access, which is around 3,500 euros. This, together with the process that must be developed to obtain the certificate of professional aptitude and driving licenses, are two of the main barriers to access: “It is only possible to obtain the necessary driving licenses from the age of 18, which implies more delay when entering the labor market and a certain disenchantment of those young people who, at the age of 16, are looking to work,” explains Carlos García, general secretary of FVET.
With this scenario, the Federation has presented this Tuesday a campaign to attract new drivers, placing special emphasis on young people and women, since they represent 3%, a tiny percentage of the total number of drivers in Spain. One of the drivers who has been encouraged to participate in the campaign launched this Tuesday is Vanesa Fernández López, who assures that “women need to see that you feel fulfilled when you do this job.” Another voice that participates in the campaign is that of Adrián Moraga, a young man who works in port transport, for which he explains that “I sleep at home every day and the weekends are for me.” Working hours are one of the reluctance that transport companies encounter when recruiting talent, especially in international transport.
As a proposal to cushion a situation that is beginning to become complicated for the sector, the FVET is considering as a proposal to promote the Medium Degree of Technician in Driving Road Transport Vehicles. For four years, this degree has been taught in three centers in the Valencian Community, this autonomy being the only one, along with Catalonia, that has offered it in public vocational training centers. Now its objective is for those who take the training to finish the degree with the relevant driving license so that access to the profession is “more immediate.”
“Other autonomous communities, such as Castilla y León, La Rioja, Galicia, Cantabria, the Basque Country and Madrid, have promoted training aid. However, the Valencian Community has not taken, at the moment, any measure to encourage young people’s access to this profession,” added the secretary of the FVET, who wants to request funding from the Generalitat Valenciana to implement this proposal.
Over the next few weeks, social networks will be filled with videos of different profiles of drivers, whether general cargo, cranes or dangerous goods, who will tell why they became a transporter. Among the reasons of the already professionals, the salary, the “freedom behind the wheel”, the dynamism of the work and the handling of high-tech vehicles.
Likewise, in parallel to this campaign, the FVET demands improvements in working conditions and infrastructure, such as, for example, the expansion of rest and safe parking areas with minimal services for transporters or the improvement of working conditions in the loading and unloading areas. “If we do nothing, our companies will notice the absence of drivers, whether in costs or difficulties in expanding their businesses. It is time to be a transporter”, concludes Carlos Prades.
