The next generation at the wheel
By Marcus Schick
| 11 minute read
02/08/2024
The logistics industry doesn’t have enough young drivers. What it needs are appealing training concepts. For ten years, DACHSER Service und Ausbildungs GmbH has been setting standards in the training of drivers in the logistics sector. The Bremen branch was part of this endeavor from the very beginning.
It may be “just” a truck, but the new arrival at DACHSER’s Bremen logistics center on Senator-Blase-Strasse has already achieved the status of a “silent star” after only a few weeks. “Silent,” because the 16-ton battery-electric truck from Renault glides almost noiselessly through traffic in and around Bremen, with zero local emissions, making it a quiet and environmentally friendly transport solution. And it’s a “star” for the drivers as well as for the recipients and passers-by. “It’s the lower noise level in particular that many people notice immediately. And our e-truck is also very maneuverable, making it ideal for city centers,” says Michael Schrader, General Manager European Logistics DACHSER Bremen, who’s delighted with the newcomer at his branch.
“Intelligent technology is one thing,” says Schrader, “but the people who operate it are at least as important. A high-tech vehicle also needs quality in the driver’s cab and at the wheel.” But this is precisely where a structural problem has been emerging for some time: the freight forwarding industry is running out of young drivers. According to a study by the International Road Transport Union (IRU), as many as 62 percent of carriers in Europe complain that they are having major problems recruiting people to drive their trucks.
Germany alone already has a shortage of 70,000 skilled workers, with jobs at the wheel going unfilled at a rate of some 20,000 per year. “We mustn’t allow the driver shortage to worsen,” warns Umberto de Pretto, Secretary General of the IRU. “Freight forwarders are doing their best, but governments and authorities need to step up their efforts to improve working conditions and access to the profession.”
62 %
of freight carriers in Europe have difficulties finding drivers.
Sustainable logistics will be determined by quality – of both the service and the people who provide it on a daily basis.”
Putting a job description to the test
This sets the agenda for policymakers. But to continue to provide customers with reliable and predictable transport and logistics services, there’s also work for logistics companies themselves to do. The following kinds of questions stand front and center: How do we recruit young people to enter this challenging yet also attractive profession? How can we redesign a job description that has often been perceived negatively and make it appealing to men and women alike? How do we increase mutual trust and appreciation for the people “out on the road” and their duties? And how do we get the ball rolling with targeted training measures that, ideally, are ultimately scalable and thus pave the way out of the shortage?
DACHSER was one of the first logistics companies to take up this challenge: in 2014, it launched its own qualification offensive by founding DACHSER Service und Ausbildungs GmbH. The aim is to attract young people to the driving profession, inspire them, train them, and secure them for the market over the long term—perhaps with them later becoming independent transport subcontractors themselves.
In Bremen, the concept fell on fertile ground right from the start. Schrader played an active role on the steering committee in setting up and developing the training organization. He then placed the practical implementation at the Bremen site in the hands of his fleet manager, 40-year-old family man Christopher Trettin. Trettin sees the training and support of drivers as his “baby,” to a certain extent. A fitting image, considering that children usually go through “growing pains,” so to speak. “In 2015, we were able to recruit just one apprentice. Later on, there were three, but none of them made it through the whole program,” Trettin reports. The dropout rate in professional driver training has always been high, often over 50 percent. “But we didn’t get discouraged. We kept going and continued to work on ourselves. At some point, word got around that the quality and content of training at DACHSER is very good, and today, we have between six and twelve trainees across all three years of the program.”
Training that sets a precedent
Every year, around 100 trainees in Germany begin their training as professional drivers at the DACHSER branches. Within ten years, it’s become one of the leading education and training companies for professional drivers in Germany. “We professionalized the provision of TQ1 truck driver training and took a careful look at all processes relating to the world of drivers,” says Alexander Tonn, COO Road Logistics at DACHSER. This included, for example, hiring fleet managers at every DACHSER branch in Germany to deal specifically with drivers’ needs. “At DACHSER, every employee at each level of operations is important and deserves to be valued,” Tonn emphasizes. “For professional drivers, this kind of appreciation and work culture finds expression not least in working conditions that are as pleasant as possible. That includes addressing topics such as healthy eating, exercise, and addiction prevention.”
“It’s crucial not only to find good drivers, but also to retain and motivate them over the long term,” says Hendrik Jansen, Managing Director of DACHSER Service und Ausbildungs GmbH. The fact that people’s attitudes to work have changed should also be taken into account. Nowadays, topics such as work-life balance, changing communication, and rewarding, meaningful work play an important role. “By sparking a cultural change and cultivating greater appreciation for the driving profession, we can help ensure that drivers remain satisfied and motivated in the long term.”
Hendrik Jansen, Managing Director of DACHSER Service und Ausbildungs GmbH, talks about the urgent need for cultural change and greater appreciation for the driving profession in an interview on the occasion of its tenth anniversary
A culture that creates cohesion
For fleet manager Trettin, the key to successful training lies not only in high professional and technical quality, but also in an authentic corporate culture. This is apparent in several respects. “Our driver teams stick together. We provide fresh fruit for them every week, we occasionally set up a barbecue grill for the drivers, and the DACHSER team is also happy to have a gift ready for birthdays,” Trettin says. “When people are perceived and accepted as human beings, they’re more willing to perform, more cooperative, and therefore happier and more content.”
Torsten Heiber remembers starting his driver training in Bremen as a young man back in 2015. His excellent progress delighted his fleet manager, but at some point, he decided to pursue a different career option and dropped out of training. However, he returned to DACHSER in 2018, completed his training with flying colors in 2020, and worked for a while as a task force driver. This is a standby service that DACHSER offers to support its service partners. Torsten is now 26 years old, has matured both professionally and personally, and has moved into fleet management. Alongside Trettin, he puts his heart and soul into looking after the driver trainees at the Bremen branch. “It was a real stroke of luck for us to recruit Torsten for the training program. He’s familiar with the demands of training and day-to-day driving, and from his own experience, he knows all about the prejudices and seemingly attractive temptations that can stand in the way of a driving career,” Trettin says. “We and our trainees really appreciate that.”
One of these trainees is Henrike Eisleb. Now in her second year of training, the 20-year-old aspiring professional driver is already a valued member of the Bremen team. That’s not a given: women drivers are still rare, with an industry average of just 2 percent. Trettin believes one reason more women don’t become drivers is the image of them as “kings of the highway”; i.e., still a very male-dominated group. Another is that the task is considered physically demanding. “Naturally, you sometimes have to get physically involved when on a tour; for example, when it comes to extending a swap body’s supports after maneuvering it into place,” Trettin explains. However, there are now many ergonomic aids that support the lifting of heavy loads, as well as electric pallet trucks that make it much easier to move and stow pallets. “The idea that none of this is possible for women is plainly a myth. Eisleb is doing a great job in her training, and we’ve had nothing but the best experiences with our women drivers.”
Finding good drivers is only half the battle. Keeping good people and motivating them further is just as important.
A demanding profession
In general, professional drivers today need more brains than brawn; for example, when it comes to making optimum use of the equipment. Studies have shown that special training courses can reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by up to 14 percent. That’s something the drivers find appealing. For them, it often becomes a fun challenge in their day-to-day work to make their driving as efficient and climate-friendly as possible—and to compete with their colleagues.
“Our trainees often get to drive the electric vans and e-trucks used in short- and long-distance transport,” Jansen says. “They’re curious and fascinated by new technology. As ‘first movers,’ they receive self-confidence as well as the certainty that they’re on the right path for the future.” In Bremen, one of the vehicles the third-year trainees are allowed to drive is the brand-new all-electric E-Tech D16 from Renault Trucks. “Eisleb is already looking forward to it. Being entrusted with state-of-the-art technology always gives our trainees a bit of pride,” Trettin says.
And rightly so, since these prospective drivers are entering a demanding field. Legal and administrative know-how is no less important than the technical and driving skills; for example, with regard to road traffic regulations, dangerous goods, or securing cargo. “All this calls for a certain kind of personality,” Trettin says. “Professional drivers aren’t auxiliary staff, but skilled workers who are willing and able to take responsibility for the vehicle and the goods they’re transporting. They have to drive carefully in traffic and be capable of handling their vehicle, even in narrow streets and alleyways.” Last but not least, they also need particular social and communication skills for, say, their daily dealings with dispatchers, warehouse managers, and target customers. “With an average of 16 stops and 16 separate points of contact, they meet a wide variety of people, all of whom have different moods and attitudes. So they have to have presence and personality,” Trettin says.
Intelligent technology is one thing, but the people who operate it are at least as important.
Setting new training standards
With a view to the critical role of professional drivers and with all the experience gained from ten years of training, the agenda of DACHSER Service und Ausbildungs GmbH is clear: “In an increasingly challenging labor market, it’s more important than ever to work together as equals in a spirit of trust, provide attractive working conditions for drivers, and ensure strong and sustainable cooperation with our service partners,” Tonn says.
This year, the Road Logistics business field launched another initiative dedicated to continuing the fair and respectful cooperation with transportation companies. Its starting point is a Service Partner Code of Conduct, which is intended to serve as a uniform cultural guideline for collaboration. DACHSER is also installing coordinators in the branches specifically to serve as an interface between the branches, their service partners, the drivers, and the Head Office.
All these concepts and measures aren’t enough to solve the structural and global shortage of drivers, but they at least set the course. “Sustainable logistics will be determined by quality—of both the service and the people who provide it on a daily basis,” Tonn says. “The decisive foundations for this are laid in education and training.” And then it’s not only the latest generation of vehicles that are the stars, as in Bremen, but the drivers, too.
