In order to counteract the continuing decline in the number of professional drivers, there is a new training course in Venlo to make the profession more attractive. Theory is immediately put into practice.
For example, drivers in training should get a better picture of the work of a professional driver.
Driver 3.0
Berny Jansen is such a professional driver. He works at Mercuur Transport, a Venlo transporter in, among other things, flowers and plants. His company, together with customized HRM and the Transport College Venlo, was one of the founders of the ‘Chauffeur 3.0’ training.
Shortage
The driver acknowledges that there is a shortage of well-trained professional drivers in the Netherlands. Shifts of about 13 to 14 hours are the rule rather than the exception. “We would have liked to have had some drivers,” explains Jansen. “Then we could have split certain routes. But there is no growth.”
Ride along
Jansen has been active as a driver for about six years and already had a truck driver’s license before his work at the transport company. “And yet in the beginning I drove for a few days with another driver. That way you get a much better picture of how the work is going,” he explains.
load
One of the activities that is better visualized during the training is loading a truck. “You don’t learn that in the books. You only learn that by doing it and keep trying,” he says. “You also always have to secure the load properly. There are different ways to do this and every driver does it differently. But you only learn it by actually doing it, not by reading how to do it.”
Despite the work pressure, Jansen enjoys going to work every day. “Why not? I have a great job.”