There is a long-announced crisis in the trucking industry. Many of today’s drivers will soon retire, and increased competition for drivers from Eastern Europe is also expected. In Europe, there is a total shortage of 400,000 truck drivers, according to the Financial Times. In Trøndelag, a collaboration between Nav and the truck industry has provided 700 new drivers. – We could not have dreamed that we would be so successful, says Roar Melum, regional manager of the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association. The courses did not produce results Ten years ago, the National Audit Office went through Nav’s course system. They found out that they spent large resources on expensive driver’s license training, but to get even higher in the industry. Several of those who had been given the chance were not fit to be drivers either. – When they came to our companies, one experienced that the qualifications as a professional driver were not present. What we did was that we went in and turned this around, says Melum. The solution was that the industry itself took responsibility for recruiting and training the drivers. Through “speed dating”, the industry itself was able to decide which candidates seemed suitable. The training was also changed, to have a greater focus on attitudes and to build up the self-esteem of the course participants. – It was incredibly good. Everything was great, says Isabel Buljo, who participated in the course through Nav. Today she works as a driver in Thermomax. Buljo has now worked three years as a lorry driver and looks forward to every day at work. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news More motivated drivers After many years as a nursing assistant, Buljo was hired and wanted to retrain. Through the course with Nav and the trucking industry, she gained an insight into several different companies and made important contacts. Buljo could not be more satisfied with his career choice: – I have the best job in the world. Now I’ve been working on this for a little over three years, and even then it’s like that I look forward to going to work every day. It’s magical to feel like that. Her boss, Vegard Søbstad Myhre, has added ten drivers through the new programme. He notices a big change. – It seems that they want a little more. Before it was: I’m applying because I have nothing else to do, do you want a driver, do you have a job for me? Now they are excited, they want this, he says. Vegard Søbstad Myhre is a department manager at Thermomax. He has recruited employees from the course at NAV. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news Unaccustomed to Nav For the career guidance managers at Nav, the transition to the new collaborative project was a big one. From having full control over intake, the number of course places and course content, they have had to let the industry take greater control. – That it wasn’t Nav who decided who should be involved, that it wasn’t Nav who sat at the drawing board all by himself and developed the concept, that was very new. That’s according to Stine Storm Hauge, specialist developer at Nav. Hauge says the collaboration has led to major cost savings. Now the number of course places is determined based on how many drivers the companies need. – More of the drivers will also be in the industry over time, she says. Roar Melum, regional manager of the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association and Stine Storm Hauge, specialist developer at NAV, are behind the collaboration. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news Will be introduced in several places Roar Melum, who is one of the initiators of the collaboration, is very satisfied with the results. The regional leader has worked over several years to spread the success formula to other parts of the country. Similar projects are now under construction both in Rogaland, Buskerud and in Telemark. Several are standing on the stairs. Melum believes that such a collaboration with Nav can be a large part of the solution to the future shortage of drivers: – Through the scheme we run here, we educate just as much as the school board in Norway does, and it will be a wonderful supplement to that need we have as sustenance.
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Unique collaboration between the Truck Industry and Nav has provided 700 new drivers in Trøndelag – news Trøndelag
