Chris

The government really, really doesn't want to go down the visa route though. That much is abundantly clear, and is why I think they've gone for a very short term concession. They've done enough to be able to go on the news and say they've done something, but they haven't really helped the industry. The expectation clearly is still that the industry gets its house in order and recognises the reality of supply and demand. Their demand must be met from domestic supply, and that means they're going to have to invest in the workforce instead of undercutting it.

I don't routinely scan the job vacancies newspaper pages but on the occasions when I have in the past, I have noticed that hauliers have routinely advertised for trained and time served drivers. Apprenticeship vacancies have for years been extremely rare, which is perhaps unsurprising when there's a good supply of relatively cheap, trained and mobile drivers available in Eastern Europe. The chickens are now, however, coming home to roost (even if they're not coming to your local supermarket).