Women Driving HGVs

It is essential that more women are recruited, shocking fact ……. currently only 1% of HGV drivers in the UK are female!!

The workload is manageable and it pays very well for what you have to do. There are good benefits.

Truck drivers are always needed, so a woman would have no problem finding a job driving a truck. The trucking industry can be tough on women for reasons of safety simply because they are on the road. There’s no predicting what kinds of characters you can run into across the country and in truck stops. Solo drivers may feel particularly uncomfortable if shady characters become aware that they are driving alone.

The driving industry has been pushing for more diversity and inclusivity in recent years and particularly at times of growing skill shortages, it is important for employers to attract a range of individuals.

One of the biggest problems facing the industry, when it comes to attracting female workers, is the perception of the industry. It is often perceived as a ‘man’s world’, where drivers need to be strong and robust, you work long, inflexible working hours which are not conducive to family life.

HGV drivers have quite a bit of flexibility towards their working hours – which makes balancing a social life and family life a lot easier. Standard working hours don’t exist in the HGV driving world, with hours changing monthly, weekly and even daily, however you do have a say in when and how you work in most companies

There is a misconception in the driving industry that you need to be big, strong, but this is not the case. Thanks to power steering and automatic gears, hydraulic workings operated at the push of a button and the home from home comforts that are now available in the cabs, modern HGV’s do not live up to this misconception. HGV driving jobs are still challenging, but the physical exertion that was once required is a lot less.

There are many benefits of being within this industry, job security just to name one. The demand for logistics and transportation has been increasing over the years, and after the past year and Covid 19 it’s not likely to stop. There is lots of room for growth within the driving industry, with room to progress in your career, offering a variety and a good salary that only increases with experience.

Breaking away from this stereotype attracting more female drivers to work life on the roads is essential to solving the HGV driver shortage.