Professional truck drivers: Appreciation has right of way

By Michael Kriegel, Department Head DACHSER Chem Logistics

A joint study published at the beginning of 2023, entitled “Addressing capacity bottlenecks in logistics with a focus on drivers,” extrapolated from the latest statistics that Germany is currently short of more than 70,000 truck drivers and that around 20,000 additional driving jobs are going unfilled each year. This is already having a noticeable economic impact. The study puts the costs of this shortage to the German economy at around EUR 10 billion in 2022 alone.

“We must not allow the driver shortage to worsen,” warns IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto. “Freight forwarders are doing their best, but governments and authorities need to step up their efforts to improve working conditions and access to the profession.”

This sets the agenda for policymakers. But to continue to provide customers—especially those in the demanding chemical industry—with reliable and predictable transport and logistics services, there’s also work for logistics companies themselves to do. The following kinds of questions stand front and center: How do we recruit young people to enter this profession? How can we “revamp” a job description that has often been perceived negatively and make it more appealing? How do we increase mutual trust and appreciation for the people “out on the road”? How can we portray ever-higher demands, especially when dealing with dangerous goods, as an exciting professional challenge? And how do we get the ball rolling with individual, targeted training measures that are ultimately scalable and thus pave the way out of the shortage?

DACHSER was one of the first companies to address the issue of driver shortages, starting back in 2014. Even though the European market leader in groupage and contract logistics doesn’t maintain a large vehicle fleet of its own, preferring instead to work with independent transport companies, ten years ago DACHSER took the initiative to launch its own qualification offensive in the form of a dedicated training company called DACHSER Service und Ausbildungs GmbH. The aim is to attract young people to the driving profession, inspire them, train them, and secure them for the market over the long term—perhaps with them later becoming transport service providers themselves.

Finding drivers and inspiring them

Since then, DACHSER has qualified over 100 trainees as professional drivers every year. DACHSER Service und Ausbildungs GmbH also professionalized the provision of TQ1 truck driver training and took a careful look at all processes relating to the world of drivers. This included, for example, hiring a fleet manager at every DACHSER branch in Germany to deal specifically with drivers’ needs.

DACHSER always says, “Logistics is people business.” This is based on the conviction that every employee at each level of operations is important and deserves to be valued highly. For professional drivers, this kind of appreciation and work culture finds expression not least in modern, pleasant workplaces. That includes ensuring that the truck and the driver’s cab feature state-of-the-art technology and ergonomics. It also involves addressing topics such as healthy eating, exercise, and addiction prevention.

Moreover, drivers themselves have an important role to play on the road to greater sustainability in logistics processes. Studies show that the right training can reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 14 percent. That’s something the drivers find appealing. DACHSER’s trainees often get to drive the electric vans and e-trucks that the company is now increasingly using in short- and long-distance transport. This makes them “first movers” and provides them with self-confidence and the certainty that they are on the right path for the future.