Goods are congested, container trucks are lined up at the yard while drivers with FC licenses are in short supply. Many businesses have to sell some of their vehicles, not daring to take on more goods because they cannot recruit drivers, a common situation, especially in Ho Chi Minh City.
Selling cars due to lack of drivers
A representative of a business in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City said that he had about 60 container trucks, but because he did not have enough drivers, he was forced to sell some of them and now only has 25. However, the operating capacity is still not up to the required level because there are no drivers.
Container driving requires experience and necessary skills, so the licensing conditions will be more strict than other license categories.
According to this business owner, there are many reasons why it is difficult to find drivers with FC licenses. The average driver salary is currently around 20 million/month but they have to travel far, work with high intensity and high level of danger.
When there is a violation, the penalty is also very severe, along with the driver's license being suspended for many months. Therefore, many drivers switch to technology driving or work in other fields.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, the shift of labor from Ho Chi Minh City to other localities also caused a sharp decline in the number of drivers in the city.
"Drivers are scarce, and the FC license exam is very strict, so it's even scarcer. We've posted job openings and searched from many different sources, but it's all difficult," said the business owner.
Similarly, a representative of another business shared that almost every transport company has difficulty recruiting drivers with FC licenses.
Previously, the company would interview the driver, but now it is the opposite. When the driver comes to the company, he first asks about the salary and benefits. Then he goes to see the car. If the car is old and the benefits are not suitable, he will leave immediately.
"FC license drivers are very valuable now. If you post a job posting looking for drivers for old container trucks, no drivers will come. Even when recruiting new drivers, light cargo, better working conditions, the chance of finding a driver is still very slim," said the representative.
Mr. Bui Van Quan, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Freight Transport Association, said: "The association has about 130 transport companies, and almost all of them lack drivers with FC licenses from 20 to 50%. The situation of having goods, vehicles, and money but no drivers is very common."
Should the conditions be relaxed?
According to regulations, on the day of the driving test, the person taking the FC driving license must be at least 24 years old. Regarding driving time standards, the driver must have at least 3 years of driving experience and 50,000km of safe driving.
In case of traffic violations resulting in revocation of the driver's license, the safe driving time is calculated from the date of completion of the penalty decision.
The lack of FC licenses is partly due to the fact that many drivers are not interested in this difficult profession. Harsh working conditions, high risk factors, short working years, frequent trips away from home, some transport companies avoiding signing long-term contracts, paying insurance for drivers... are the reasons why drivers with C, D, E licenses have little need to study to convert or upgrade their licenses.
Prof. Dr. Tu Sy Sua, senior lecturer at University of Transport
To overcome the shortage of drivers with FC licenses, the Ho Chi Minh City Freight Transport Association proposed that the Vietnam Road Administration relax the driving experience requirement from 3 years to 1 year and the total safe driving distance is 50,000km to create conditions for drivers to quickly take the FC license exam.
Mr. Bui Van Quan said that having to wait 3 more years or turn 24 to upgrade a driver’s license has caused many difficulties, reducing the supply of new drivers. Meanwhile, drivers still have to pass the theory test and skills test.
However, Professor Tu Sy Sua, senior lecturer at the University of Transport, said that although there is a shortage of drivers, the conditions for granting licenses should not be lowered, but many synchronous solutions are needed.
According to Mr. Sua, transporting goods by containers, semi-trailers, and trailers poses a high risk of traffic safety if the driver does not have the necessary experience and skills. Therefore, the conditions for granting a FC class driver's license must be stricter and more stringent than for other driving classes.
"To overcome the shortage, transport businesses need to improve their benefits, working conditions, and insurance policies to create peace of mind for drivers when signing contracts.
Enterprises also need to recruit potential people to send them for training and development according to their needs. When attracting and using drivers in this way, the FC license will become more attractive, and the need for training will increase," said Mr. Sua.
The paradox of excess and shortage
Mr. Luong Duyen Thong, Head of Vehicle and Driver Transport Management Department, Vietnam Road Administration, said that the number of FC driving licenses is currently double the number of container trucks and tractors.
"Specifically, the whole country currently has more than 162,000 FC class driving licenses in circulation, while the number of vehicles only accounts for half. Ho Chi Minh City alone has more than 18,000 tractors and more than 46,000 driving licenses, the ratio of driving licenses/vehicles is 2.5. The number of driving licenses compared to the number of vehicles is not lacking," said Mr. Thong.
According to Mr. Thong, current training facilities and testing centers can fully meet the needs of training, testing and granting FC-class certificates to people in need.
The lack of drivers is due to learners not wanting to learn to drive this class or those with FC licenses switching to other jobs. In addition, the treatment of businesses is also the reason why drivers are not interested.
Regarding the proposal to reduce the seniority from the current 3 years to 1 year to ease the problem of drivers for businesses, Mr. Thong assessed that to ensure traffic safety and reduce traffic accidents, it is necessary to maintain the 3-year driving seniority regulation for FC licenses.
Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/doanh-nghiep-do-mat-tim-tai-xe-bang-fc-192241202233159827.htm
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