Chilled foods and fresh produce delivery business Gist has offered incentives of up to £5,000 for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers joining from August in order to boost capability and resources.
New recruits have the potential to receive the payout through a combination of a £2,000 sign-on bonus and up to three additional retention payments for continued service.
Hampshire, UK-based Gist, which delivers across the nation for customers including Marks and Spencer, employs more than 2,000 drivers and runs a modern, high-spec Euro 6 fleet. The organisation currently offers drivers a benefits package that includes employee discounts, a “generous” pension scheme and sick pay, as well as progression and development opportunities.
Additionally, the business has been addressing the nationwide driver shortage by educating new drivers through its Driver Training Programme and driver training apprenticeships for new and existing employees who are changing career from warehouse operative to HGV driver.
The training is being offered at Gist's bespoke education centre which opened in October 2019, and following Covid-19 (Coronavirus) guidance will reopen this September. It features a static vehicle for new drivers and a drop-in centre to support those re-training to become Class 1 HGV drivers.
Gist’s drivers have also won a number of data-driven Microlise awards, including winning the long distance driver of the year for two consecutive years and the Driver of the Year 2020.
Julian Bailey, managing director of temperature controlled logistics at Gist, said: “By offering this substantial incentive, we’re hoping to entice experienced drivers who may have recently retired or moved to alternative careers back into the industry. In the longer term, we’re hoping to encourage younger people to consider driving as an attractive career choice that offers great benefits.”
