Gairmeacha Iompair & Loighistice

Around two thirds of those employed in transport and logistics work in road transport, in roles such as truck or taxi drivers. Employment levels were 7.7% higher than the 2011 level, with employment expanding strongly in most occupational areas between 2015 and 2016. For example, managers & directors in transport & logistics grew by 21.2% and mobile machine drivers & operatives by 13.5%.

Figure 1: Highlights the contrasting employment trends within Transport and Logistics occupations.  Data from National Skills Bulletin, 2017. SOLAS Skills and Labour Market Research Unit.

Filling skills in certain areas has proven difficult including hands on roles such as Heavy Goods Vehicle drivers with professional certificates, licensed forklift drivers and 360 machine drivers. Some admin and management roles are also in demand, such as senior planners with skills in supply chain management and administrators comfortable working in procurement, logistics and with multilingual skills. Many roles in the sector are tough work, with long hours, which is reflected in a high turnover rate with many people entering and leaving the sector.

Following from the National Skills Bulletin, 2017

Key points for selected transport and logistics occupations

• In 2016, there were approximately 98,000 persons employed in transport and logistics occupations, representing 4.8% of the national workforce
• Approximately two thirds of those employed (66,000 persons) were road transport operatives (predominantly large goods vehicle and taxi drivers)
• In 2016, overall employment levels were 7.7% (7,000) higher than 2011 levels, and 9.4% (8,500) higher than those observed in 2015
• Between 2015 and 2016, employment expanded for most occupations, with the strongest growth rates observed for stock control, transport & distribution administrative occupations (29.7%), managers & directors in transport & logistics (21.2%) and mobile machine drivers & operatives (13.5%); in contrast, employment declined for other drivers & transport operatives (18.9%); the largest absolute increase was observed for road transport operatives (4,600)
• Over a quarter of all employed road transport operatives was aged 55 or older (two fifths of all employed bus & coach drivers was in this age group), the most mature workforce of the selected occupations
• The education profile of persons employed in the selected occupations was skewed towards lower levels of educational attainment: almost 40% had lower secondary or less qualifications (well above the national average of 15%) ▪ The majority of those employed in transport occupations were male; two fifths of stock control, transport & distribution administrative workers were female
• Most persons worked full-time in the selected occupations.

See also: 'Addressing the demand for Skills in the Freight, Transport, Distribution and Logistics Sector in Ireland 2015-2020'  EFGSN, February 2015

Shortage Indicators

Although the numbers employed in managerial and administrative transport positions are relatively small, growth has been observed since 2015. Replacement demand for these occupations was low in 2016 turnover was above average for management roles, while the volume of vacancy notifications was low. The extent to which Brexit will impact on the international haulage sector is as yet unclear although a recent Department of Finance report suggests that of all services sectors, transport is by far the sector most exposed to changes in access to the UK market. As such, the future demand for skills is difficult to determine in the short-medium term.

In 2016, there were almost 100 major awards made in logistics/distribution & supply chain logistics, mostly at NFQ level 5. At third level, the latest data shows that there were 265 awards in supply chain management (mainly at level 8 & 9) and a further 130 awards in transport management/operation (mostly at levels 7 & 8). In April 2017, job ready job seekers included a number of persons previously employed in managerial and administrative transport positions.

Although most of the indicators examined in relation to managerial and administrative transport occupations, such as volume of vacancies, turnover and number of available jobseekers, do not signal a short supply, the Recruitment Agency Survey identified a number of areas where employers are having difficulty in sourcing a small number of suitably qualified candidates including: ▪ purchasing managers and senior buyers ▪ senior planner (supply chain management including demand forecasting) ▪ distribution specialists with technical expertise (biopharma) ▪ administrative roles in procurement, supply chain and logistics with languages. In terms of drivers, although some employment growth occurred since 2015, this was exceeded by the number of persons starting with a new employer in these occupations in 2016. This indicates that a high level of turnover was responsible for a significant share of the vacancy notifications. Despite demand for these drivers, approximately 7,000 job ready job seekers were recorded in April 2017, although many had attained less than Leaving Certificate level education. In addition, the Road Safety Authority awarded over 500 Driver CPC certificates and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport awarded 170 ADR driving certificates to learners on SOLAS funded courses in 2016.

Nonetheless, employers are still experiencing difficulty in sourcing candidates for these roles and given that almost one in three truck drivers was over 55, replacement demand will remain strong in the short-medium term. In order to alleviate some of the issues in this area, a number of employment permits have been allocated for HGV drivers who have a CE or C1E driving licence. A three year NFQ level 5 HGV driver apprenticeship is also currently in development. With the increase in construction activity, particularly in Dublin, demand for mobile machine drivers has increased significantly in recent years.

Sourcing and retaining suitably qualified drivers has been identified for

• heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers/articulated truck drivers: with Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC)
• fork lift drivers: (e.g. with VNA and/or turret license, reach truck)
• 360 machine drivers: (14 ton).