#transportation #logistics
The young generation is the future of the logistics industry.
In the logistics sector, the lack of drivers is still a major issue, and to make things worse there is a total lack of generational turnover. It is essential for Italian and foreign logistics companies to engage with the youth so that they can take into account this work opportunity.
The technical schools that specialize in logistics are an excellent starting point to begin with and find potential young, passionate drivers. Some might say that an 18 year old driver is more dangerous than a 40 year old one, but our experience says the opposite.
Here at Lanzi Trasporti we are strongly connected to a series of school activities at local high schools and post-diploma institutes, which has helped us understand that the right training can make a young driver better than an experienced one.
At this point, it is a matter of fact that new drivers drive with great attention and respect for the road rules. The time spent on the road helps drivers to develop the skills and experience needed to have full control of the vehicle, but it also impacts on the ability to remember the basics learned during training.
When we carried out safety tests at Lanzi Trasporti, the instructors noticed that the novice drivers had overall great attention to detail and performed very well: from steer handling to using blinkers properly and braking at the right distance, they all did an excellent job.
This is obviously not true for everyone, but it makes us believe that with the right training the lack of drivers that we are currently experiencing could decrease. Their role is of the essence in the country’s economy, we should never forget it.
To hold young drivers responsible for their future in this field is an investment that would go beyond our sector and impact the broader society. To achieve this goal, we should recommend this work path starting from high schools, so that the young ones can have the possibility to consider this job as a concrete option for their future.
Moreover, to face the lack of drivers, here in Parma we have a few inclusive projects involving immigrants to help them become drivers, but unfortunately these initiatives are not enough to meet the national demand that keeps increasing. That is why it is so important to include our youth in the process to join the workforce as drivers, opening interesting job opportunities that might be underestimated.
Although the public opinion believes that young Italian drivers have lost affection for the job, we have reason to think that this is not entirely true. Schools have a tendency to direct adolescents towards office or management jobs, even when students show interest in becoming truck drivers.
The standardization of the European upper driver’s licenses would encourage them even further, and guarantee that young drivers could drive freely beyond national borders.
The future of the Italian logistics industry relies on our young ones, but it is up to us to give them the keys to open its many opportunities.