Letter from DVSA Chief Executive Officer, Loveday Ryder, to vocational trainers

 

Dear colleague,

I’m sure you will be aware of the government’s plan to help tackle the current shortage of HGV drivers.

This includes plans for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to support us to carry out more HGV tests.

This week, we will train the MoD examiners to help them become familiar with our processes and plan for them to start testing from Monday 11 October.

We would appreciate your help so we can make the best use of this additional testing resource.

The current HGV driver shortage is of national importance, so we all need to work together to help get as many new drivers safely on to our roads as quickly as possible.

Increase in testing

We are doing all we can to increase HGV test capacity to keep Great Britain’s vital supply chains running that drive our economy.

There are now many more lorry and bus test appointments you can book across Great Britain using your normal booking arrangements, with new dates added every week.

We are sending regular update emails to you about current test availability in Great Britain split by area.

If you are having any problems making bookings, email us on [email protected], an address we have set up specifically to support you in getting your test demand fulfilled as soon as possible.

Understanding your testing needs

We want to understand your current and future demand for tests, and your training forecasts and capacity to make sure you can access tests when and where you need them.

We have set up an online form for you to let us know about your current testing needs.

We look forward to your information, which will help us to target the extra capacity successfully.

Understanding other barriers to testing

Based on feedback from the vocational testing industry, we know that some provisional drivers may be facing other difficulties in getting their HGV licence, for example theory test availability.

We want to understand the barriers that your pupils face so we can potentially help you overcome these challenges.

Please also let us know about these difficulties using the online form outlined above.

Keeping up to date with how the government is helping to reduce the HGV driver shortage

A new section on GOV.UK website has been launched which brings together all the latest information on how the government is helping to reduce the HGV driver shortage.

You can also sign up for email alerts to stay up to date with the latest HGV driver announcements from all government departments and agencies, including DVSA.

Visit the new GOV.UK section on lorry driver updates at www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/hgv-driver-shortage-uk-government-response

This includes blog post from Department for Education about the skills boot camp at
https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2021/09/30/how-can-i-train-to-become-an-hgv-driver-your-questions-answered/

Yours faithfully,

Loveday Ryder
Chief Executive

 

New online hub for HGV driver updates

A new section on GOV.UK website has been launched which brings together all the latest information on how the government is helping to reduce the HGV driver shortage.

You can also sign up for email alerts to stay up to date with the latest HGV driver announcements from all government departments and agencies, including DVSA.

Visit the new GOV.UK section on HGV driver updates

This includes a Department for Education blog post about the Skills Bootcamps and training to become an HGV driver.