Finance Minister Rebecca Evans met a group of female HGV drivers earlier today as part of a pilot programme to address skill gaps in traditionally gendered industries.
Through the Personal Learning Account (PLA) program at Coleg Sir Gr in Carmarthenshire, which is financed by the Welsh Government, 19 women have earned their HGV licenses during the past two years.
Many of the participants in the course have changed careers from prior employment and are now employed in the haulage business.
For Coleg Sir Gar and other providers, COTS Training also provides the training.
Currently employed with Gregory Distribution, Sian Morris said:
Having successfully completed the Transport Manager CPC last November at COTS Llandarcy, funded by Coleg Sir Gar, I thoroughly enjoyed the course, learning and achieving goals. We were provided with an excellent tutor along with brilliant facilities and staff that were most welcoming and helpful. It prompted further training to achieve a lifetime ambition of passing my class 1 licence. Having worked most of my life in a transport administration role this seemed the natural progression. Living in a household with two sons that drive class 1 along with my husband, I set my sights on passing this challenge, knowing that this too would enhance my CV and create many more job opportunities - none of which would be open to me had I not undertaken this training made available to me. This has honestly been a lifeline as I had been unhappy for a long time in my role so I therefore took the decision to learn and develop new skills and with the help of COTS, succeed. Their commitment, guidance and support even after passing has been absolutely unfathomable.
Sian Morris, Gregory Distribution
Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government, said,
This aim of this pilot was two-fold: to increase employment in sectors with a skills shortage; and to address gender inequality in some of those sectors. It has been fantastic to meet female drivers today who have gained their licences through the pilot, as well as their employers in the haulage industry.
Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government
Dr Andrew Cornish, Principal of Coleg Sir Gȃr, said:
I am delighted at the impact Personalised Learning Accounts (PLAs) are having with both employees and employers. Using this Welsh Government initiative, many employees across the region have been upskilled or retrained in a number of different sectors. This training has enabled employees to gain new skills that have impacted positively on their business and provided them with the confidence and qualifications which will allow them to springboard their careers forward. In this particular case, I am so proud of the work we have achieved with women, providing HGV training that will allow them to take their place in an ever-expanding logistics sector.
Dr Andrew Cornish, Principal of Coleg Sir Gȃr
People who make less than £29,534 per year can use personal learning accounts to help them develop their skills and access more varied and highly skilled job possibilities. They enable individuals to fit fully subsidized, flexible coursework around ongoing obligations. Funding is primarily focused in critical industries including health and social care, logistics, green building, and renewable energy where there are documented labor shortages and skills shortfalls.
The Welsh Government tested a number of gender budgeting pilot programs, including the HGV programme at Coleg Sir Gr, to see if they could enable more men and women train for careers where there are real or perceived hurdles to their gender. As part of the Welsh Government's aim to being a feminist government, gender budgeting entails explicitly assessing the effects of spending on gender equality.