– We are in a new market situation where we are observing an outflow of professional drivers abroad. This trend became very apparent in the second half of 2006, and we predict that it will continue in 2007 and likely longer, until the market balances this shortage. We all know that manual workers, including a large portion of drivers, have been taking jobs abroad since Poland joined the European Union – explains Andrzej Wierzbicki, Fleet Management Director at Schenker Sp. z o.o.
The goal of the project is to support Schenker’s subcontractors, i.e., transport and forwarding companies, in acquiring experienced drivers and training new staff.
– The carriers we work with are signaling their problems related to the shortage of drivers on the market – trucks are standing idle, and there is no one to drive them – adds Andrzej Gluźniewicz, Coordinator for Cooperation with Carriers at Schenker Sp. z o.o.
The Schenker Driver Academy is one of the elements of the company’s efforts to build partnership relations with carriers. The Academy operates in two ways: in the first stage of the project, activities are carried out in cooperation with Labor Offices. Thanks to this, it is possible to reach professional drivers with job offers who already have experience and the appropriate qualifications but are, for example, registered as unemployed and are not working. The second solution is aimed at people who want to acquire a new profession, change their career path, or obtain higher qualifications – category C and C+E driving licenses.
Thanks to employment declarations from Schenker’s subcontractors, a person interested in working as a driver can count on support from the labor office, which has the ability to release financial resources for their further training.
– At the moment, by operating in two ways on a national scale, we have collected about 200 applications from drivers who already have experience and are interested in working for our carriers – adds Andrzej Gluźniewicz.