We’re into the busy season now and this is the first time we’ve found we are a driver short. We have always had a surplus of drivers, but this year we are stretched, which is unusual.
Like everyone else, we are getting good rates of pay. But, as life has changed, so the social side of the job has changed. In the good old days, drivers enjoyed going out on tour and enjoying themselves. Now it’s a serious business, and for some of the drivers that we used to have, the work is not as fun as it used to be. They feel there are too many restrictions and rules. Could that be a reason why there are not so many people joining the industry?
We’re putting three young people through their tests at the moment. We felt we had better grow our own than rely on established drivers.
They are two lads, one 20 years old and another 22 years old, and a 24-year-old woman. The two lads have now passed their tests, and it has highlighted just how many stages are involved in getting a licence – they’re all expensive, and it puts people off even before considering the age limits.
We all need to revise how we get young people into the industry, because if we don’t do it now, we’re going to be in trouble.
But the coach industry is not an easy industry to recruit for. It’s unsocial, particularly in our business – in tourism – where the drivers are away all the time. We’re looking into that problem as well.
