Logistics UK report identifies challenges in maintaining HGV driver workforce

A new report unveiled at the Multimodal trade event yesterday suggests that while labour shortages in the logistics sector have eased, a growing capability gap now poses a significant risk to future growth and productivity.

According to the report, which was published by Logistics UK, employers are increasingly struggling to secure the required technical, managerial and specialist skills across a rapidly evolving sector.

The challenge for the sector, the 2026 Employment and Skills Report suggests, is no longer simply recruiting staff, but securing the appropriate skills for specific roles and supporting continuous development.

“Our 2026 Employment and Skills Report shows that while entry routes into the sector are available across the educational spectrum, progression into higher-skilled roles could be enhanced by a more flexible approach to the provision of skills,” said Logistics UK’s president Phil Roe.

“The skills system plays a critical role in supporting workforce development, but it is not currently aligned with the pace of change in the sector, as training remains concentrated on traditional pathways and often does not take into account upskilling existing workers or entry from other sectors.”

The integration of technology is reshaping roles across the sector, the report suggests. Most HGV drivers – 61.6 per cent – are aged 45 or over, and almost half of warehouse managers (47.7 per cent) are in the same age bracket. Logistics UK identifies a current and emerging need to upskill and reskill the existing workforce, as well as to secure new entrants through promotion of the sector.

“Entrants to our sector need to be able to develop the skills, qualifications and experience to sustain future requirements of our sector, and this cannot be done in isolation,” said Mr Roe.

“Employers and policymakers need to work together to ensure that entry and progression pathways are accessible and deliverable for all.

“Logistics underpins everything in the economy, supporting industries such as construction, manufacturing and retail, which means that skills requirements need to be recognised not as a sole sectoral issue, but a critical component of national economic infrastructure.”

The report makes a number of recommendations, including an immediate improvement in the alignment of the skills system with the training needs of the sector. Whatever businesses’ size, says Logistics UK, policy frameworks need to ensure that they can easily access and deploy funding in a way that fits with how they work.

“The logistics sector is flexible and adaptable, but its ability to respond to disruption is not enough to secure long-term resilience,” said Mr Roe.

“The next phase of growth will depend on the sector’s ability to build and sustain workforce capability.”

For HGV drivers specifically, a lack of diversity continues to be emphasised. The proportion of female drivers remains particularly low (1.1 per cent), and 93.1 per cent of drivers are white.

“The experience of HGV drivers illustrates how acute labour shortages have given way to longer-term capability and workforce renewal challenges,” found the report.

“Driver employment is influenced by wider economic conditions, but the relationship with gross domestic product (GDP) is not straightforward.

“Periods of economic growth are generally associated with increased demand for freight transport and distribution services, supporting higher levels of driver employment.

“However, several years show divergence between GDP growth and driver employment, including 2023 and 2025, when driver numbers fell despite relatively stable economic conditions. This suggests that labour supply is also shaped by sector-specific factors such as retirements, retention challenges, Driver CPC requirements and the attractiveness of the occupation, rather than economic demand alone.”

According to the report, the recovery in levels of HGV practical driver testing suggests part of the sector’s training pipeline was rebuilt following the disruption of the Covid crisis. Test volumes increased sharply during 2021 and 2022 as testing capacity returned, employers responded to the shortfall and government-supported training initiatives were unveiled. Test volumes had fallen and stabilised since 2023, suggesting the shortage response effort has eased and that driver demand has returned to more typical levels.

But the report warned that stabilisation should not be interpreted as long-term sufficiency.

“Pass rates have remained above 60 per cent, indicating improved candidate preparedness and training quality, but relatively flat test volumes suggest that the flow of new entrants remains constrained,” it said.

“Costs, reduced large-scale recruitment activity and weaker attraction among younger workers continue to limit the pipeline. This signifies that capacity has recovered, but capacity alone cannot resolve the longer-term challenge of expanding and renewing the driver workforce.”

The report acknowledged that the gap between holding an LGV driver’s licence, and eligibility to work professionally via the Driver CPC, was a key constraint, reinforced by the age profile of licence holders. The number of drivers holding both an LGV licence and Driver CPC peaked in 2024, before falling sharply in 2025 and only modestly recovering this year.

While the government-supported HGV skills bootcamps contributed to the recovery in volume of drivers being trained, changes to funding arrangements and increasing localisation “have added to variability in provision and complexity of access, making employer engagement more uneven across regions”, said the report.

“The subsequent stabilisation in test volumes and driver qualification numbers suggests that short-term interventions alone are insufficient to address longer-term demographic and skills challenges facing the profession.”

The report notes that the hourly pay for HGV drivers is comparable to occupations without such stringent licensing and regulatory requirements, and describes a  “picture of a limited and weakening pay premium”.

“The wage premium traditionally associated with HGV driving has become less pronounced over time,” it said.

“While HGV drivers continue to earn more than van drivers, the gap narrowed substantially between 2021 and 2024 as advertised salaries for van drivers increased rapidly, driven by strong demand for last-mile delivery, particularly linked to the growth of e-commerce.”

It warned that the financial incentives to obtain and maintain HGV qualifications may be weakening.

“As a result, recruitment challenges increasingly reflect the combined impact of pay, training costs and working conditions, rather than wages alone.

“This has implications for workforce planning, as employers may need to consider the relative attractiveness of HGV and van driving roles when designing recruitment and retention strategies.”

The report also touches on the shortage of HGV mechanics and technicians, vacancies for which “remained persistently high between 2021 and 2025”, with advertised salaries having risen significantly.

“The combination of sustained vacancies and strong wage growth indicates a structural shortage of specialist maintenance skills rather than a temporary recruitment issue,” said the report.

“These occupations are difficult to substitute because they require technical expertise that is transferable across the wider engineering and automotive sectors.

“This challenge is being reinforced by the increasing technological complexity of modern vehicle fleets, which is raising the level of technical and diagnostic expertise required.”