TPN launches national driver recruitment campaign

THE Pallet Network (TPN) has launched a national recruitment drive on behalf of its regional Partners to attract and place driving candidates.

TPN is renowned for identifying and solving Partner challenges, and the current driver shortage is no exception.

MD Mark Kendall says: “The driver shortage is a critical problem for the entire logistics industry, as seen in the appeals to government by the various trade bodies. We pride ourselves on stepping up and providing solutions for our Partners, and we hope this campaign and recruitment mechanism will enable them to attract a wide variety of candidates into their operations.”

The social media campaign will work across several platforms, using advertising and standard posts. Candidates will be reviewed internally and placed with the most suitable Partner depot.

Typically, however, TPN has not limited itself to solving the network’s problems but is using the opportunity to encourage a far broader range of applicants to consider logistics.

“Any operation can poach existing drivers from another operation, but that doesn’t help the industry as a whole,” says Mark. “We all have to step up and talk to those groups who could benefit from a career in logistics but do not traditionally think of applying or haven’t considered driving as a potential career.”

The campaign, therefore, targets many different demographics including:

Van drivers, including those in the gig economy
Under-represented groups in driving, such as women and ethnic minorities
People either employed in, or recently made unemployed, from minimum wage sectors such as hospitality, retail or warehousing, who may want a better paid and/or more flexible career
Young drivers

“It is our hope that we awaken far more people to the idea of vocational driving as a potential occupation,” says Mark. “We will be collating responses centrally and helping them to find the right opportunity within the network. However, I hope this drives a cultural shift and awareness of logistics far beyond our network.”

“The best solutions are never selfish solutions,” he says. “Our ethos is of mutual benefit – every solution we create should benefit everyone involved, and, where possible, it should also benefit the widest number of people. So this is for the benefit of the candidates and our Partners, which makes us stronger as a network, but it is also a contribution to the industry at large.”