WELSH Government funding has prompted hundreds in North Wales to put their names down for tuition to become HGV drivers as efforts are made to tackle the national shortage in the industry.
With the ongoing challenge presented by the shortage of drivers, I met with a local training firm to find out what is being done to tackle the issue - and what the world of logistics and transport can offer to a prospective trainee, writes Steve Craddock.
Gatewen Training Services, based in Llay, was set up in 1971 and provides a range of services including HGV and forklift truck training, fleet management, plant qualifications and warehouse distribution.
The company has been offering a scheme called the Personal Learning Account (PLA) since January this year.
It allows people who are in work to either change career, or develop their existing career by learning to drive HGVs.
The tuition and training costs are provided by the Welsh Government.
Gatewen has trained up just under 200 new HGV drivers between January and November this year.
According to Gatewen, the shortage of HGV drivers in the UK is due to a "lack of succession planning" which was exacerbated in 2021 when around 20,000 EU drivers left the UK in a matter of months.
And with more and more commerce and trade moving online - the demand for drivers to move products and stock around between regional distribution centres remains high.
Wayne Brown, operations manager at Gatewen, said the company received an influx of applicants for the PLA scheme - with all places filled and a waiting list in the region of 1,000 people to this day.
"There's a national shortage of drivers," he explained.
"We had a lot of demand when the funding came along.
"I was a bit shocked at first, but then I thought about it and going from a car licence up to a CE licence (which allows for driving 44 tonne articulated lorries) costs more than £3,500.
"That's a large sum of money, and if someone's got a chance to have that paid for them, they are going to take it."
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Mr Brown said he felt changes to lifestyle brought about by the cost-of-living crisis may have prompted some to consider entering the logistics industry, especially with the starter pay being around £28,000 to £40,000.
In terms of accessing the industry, he added it is now possible for people with a standard car driving licence to use a "fast-track" training scheme to bypass a smaller rigid-body HGV licence and go straight up to a 44-tonne articulated lorry.
And while some are "adamant" that is the path they want to take; this can bring its own challenges further down the line.
Mr Brown said: "The industry likes to see experience - so with the old route they'd do a Cat C licence and do some driving on a rigid vehicle.
"They can then upgrade, but they have that experience behind them."
In recent times, there has been a "big push" to train and recruit more female HGV drivers.
Mr Brown said currently, around three per cent of HGV drivers are female nationally.
But Gatewen has had a higher proportion of female applicants - accounting for 18 out of the 194 PLA participants.
And in a cohort of 16 apprentices from a South Wales company, five are female.
In terms of other reasons more people may be considering changing career, Mr Brown explained: "The nature of the job has completely changed.
"At one time it really was a roaming job with roping, sheeting and heavy handling.
"But now because of legislation, it's virtually; you drive a vehicle and back it onto a bay, open the curtains and it's done for you, loaded and taken off.
"It's become a lot more flexible, and all of the vehicles are automatics now, which puts less strain on the driver.
"It is a good career and it's not just the driving side of it - you can move from here into traffic planning and management. There is a career path."
And the industry itself is facing the challenge of many drivers approaching retirement.
"There are very few youngsters coming on," he said.
"The people we do have are usually between 45 and 65; that's the main bracket, and they are retiring."
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I met instructor Mark Gilroy and learner James Dingle, from Mynydd Isa.
Mr Dingle, 42, is a HGV mechanic for Flintshire Council and was looking to expand his skillset by learning to drive a 'rigid-body' HGV.
Speaking to me on his second day of learning, he said: "If you have the right teacher, you're alright.
"I'd definitely give it a go. It's just like driving a car but longer!"
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After seeing him undertake a reversing exercise, I spoke to Mr Gilroy, who has been an instructor for 17 years and very much enjoys it.
He explained: "We had a 21-year-old single mum the other week. She turned up on the Monday morning, and by Friday she was passing her practical test first time having never driven anything more than a car.
"Her emotion of 'I've done it' - you could put an extra hundred pound in your wage packet, but it doesn't give you that little kick."
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