CLEAN (UK) Driver Academy relaunched to beat ‘driver-shortage’

Laundry supplier CLEAN re-launched its ‘Driver Academy’ in an attempt to encourage more delivery drivers into the industry. Professional drivers perform an essential role at Clean, annually delivering millions of pieces of linen and workwear to customers.

Since business is expected to grow further, the company is looking to increase its driver numbers from the current 205 it already employs. However, with the UK currently facing a shortage of almost 50,000 HGV drivers caused by a 25% drop in new driver license acquisitions, Clean has developed a plan to help boost numbers.

The Clean Driver Academy includes a full Induction process in van driving (B licence up to 3.5 tonnes MPW and no Driver CPC) and LGV driving (C1, C, CE over 3.5 tonnes MPW with a Driver CPC required). The one-day Van Driver and LGV Driver training covers a wide number of areas, including speed awareness, vehicle checks, safe loading and load restraint, road craft, tachographs, manual handling, safe operation of tail lifts, and customer care. Assessments on certain areas will be held before participants sit a 50-question paper. Papers for both courses require a 75% pass rate, enabling successful candidates to be considered for a delivery driver job with the company.