Check out our EMS Calendar Girls

Check out our EMS Calendar Girls

by | Aug 30, 2022 | equal opportunity employer, Female HGV Drivers, Girl Torque, Skip Hire

We’re incredibly proud to be involved with the latest charity calendar being organised by Girl Torque.
Our girls have done their photo shoot and we think the photos are fab!

Here’s a few snippets from the article published in Truck and Driver. It makes great reading!

Brought together by a passion for their profession, a group of drivers are producing a calendar to raise money for various charities

Road transport may be facing a wider range of problems than ever, but it keeps on going; the blood in the veins that keep the heart of our nation pumping. Those wheels keep turning, in the face of ever greater adversity.

That’s because when you strip it all down to the bare bones, there’s a spine of incredible, inspirational people who go above and beyond what they need to get the job done and seek to support others.

Look at the amount of charitable and fundraising events organised by truck drivers. Would you find anything close to that per-capita in any other industrial sector? Don’t think so.

“Truck driving brings people together, it creates bonds and unites, and forges friendships for life. For some folk, yeah, it’s just a job. But for others, that feeling of freedom, of the open road, that inexplicable need to keep on moving and exploring; it becomes a compulsion.

It burrows into your soul and it never really leaves you. You either get it or you don’t”

That’s ultimately what’s brought this group of women together; a mutual respect, a passion for the work they do and the career they’ve chosen. This industry badly needs more drivers full stop! Not just women!.

THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE GIRL TORQUE CALENDAR IS KAREN SUTHERLAND.

She came up with the concept after hearing a variety of comments and opinions over the years about women drivers, whether she asked for them or not. “I wanted a way to show everyone what we do as drivers and raise some money for charity too” she explains, “There are plenty of women who are more than capable of doing this job out there. It shouldn’t matter whether you are male or female! These women do what they do for the love of the job, not the attention.”

This years calendar will feature 48 female drivers from different sectors of the haulage industry. Each month has four showing off the truck they drive and the work they do.

SPONSORSHIP

EMS and Stuarts have sponsored this fabulous calendar and are really proud to be associated Girl Torque. Other sponsors include Volvo UK, Michelin Tyres, STAS Trailers and Gray & Adams Trailers just to name a few. If you want to support this great cause, then don’t delay! For enquiries pleae contact Girl Torque via their website www.girltorque.co.uk

ALL PROFITS FROM THE 2023 CALENDAR WILL GO TO THE FOLLOWING FOUR CHARITIES:

  • The Alzheimers Society
  • Dogs Trust
  • Maggies Cancer Support
  • MIND
Our awesome girls Lydia, Chloe, Trina, Cat and Cassie attended for their photo shoot this week and the photos are fabulous!


GIRL TORQUE IS A NOT FOR PROFIT ORGANISATION WHO ARE WISHING TO NORMALISE AND PROMOTE HARD WORKING FEMALES IN THE TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS SECTOR, WHILST RAISING MONEY FOR VARIOUS CHARITIES

Female HGV Drivers at EMS

When you think of a HGV driver you’d be forgiven for usually thinking of a man. However this role is becoming increasingly popular with women of all ages and we have to say some of our best drivers are girls!

We’ve actively promoted sexual equality in the work place for years and think its great that more and more women are taking an interest in the role.

We’ve had people join us from other companies and we’ve also trained from within the company and they’ve been amazing!

The haulage industry is traditionally seen as a male dominated industry and the figures speak for themselves. Out of over 315,000 registered truck drivers in the UK, only a very small percentage are Female!

BUT numbers are on the rise and the Female Trucker roles are gaining popularity. There are many female truckers posting on TikTok with videos showing their life on the road. Girl Torque are using their flatform to promote and normalise hard working females.

We like to think we’re forward thinking in our approach to recruitment and hopefully this driver shortage will encourage more female drivers to look for a change of career.

We’d love to hear from anyone (male or female) looking to return to HGV work or even a new challenge.

Get in contact and we’d be happy to discuss any possible vacancies we may have.

LETS HEAR IT FOR THE GIRLS! FEMALE HGV DRIVERS ON THE RISE

LETS HEAR IT FOR THE GIRLS! FEMALE HGV DRIVERS ON THE RISE

by | Sep 24, 2021 | equal opportunity employer, Female HGV Drivers, HGV Drivers UK

WHEN YOU THINK OF A HGV DRIVER YOU’D BE FORGIVEN FOR USUALLY THINKING OF A MAN.
HOWEVER THIS ROLE IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY POPULAR WITH WOMEN OF ALL AGES AND WE HAVE TO SAY SOME OF OUR BEST DRIVERS ARE GIRLS!

We’ve actively promoted sexual equality in the work place for years and think its great that more and more women are taking an interest in the role.

We’ve had people join us from other companies and we’ve also trained from within the company and they’ve been amazing!

The HGV driver crisis seems to have hit the headlines in a big way. We’re fortunate enough to have some amazing drivers (both male and female) but we have to admit we’ve found it more difficult to recruit over the last year.

Here are our girlies – Cassie, Cat and Chloe


As the general perceptions of a truck driver slowly change, people are starting to realise that female HGV drivers can do the job just as well as men, if not even better.

The industry stats for female drivers currently stands at around 2% but this is changing as more enter the sector.

In the past 10 years or so the standard and comfort of the trucks have improved with better beds, mod cons and home comforts. There are also many less manual HGV roles that don’t need someone of strength to do the job well.

All these factors and the perceptions of female HGV drivers are changing all the time and here at EMS we hope that trend continues!

So why has it become so difficult to find decent qualified drivers?

Why now?
Covid is certainly part of the problem. As travel became increasingly restricted last year, and large parts of the economy shut down, many European drivers went home. And haulage companies say very few have returned.

Quote taken from BBC News

The pandemic also created a large backlog in HGV driver tests, so it’s been impossible to get enough new drivers up and running.

The industry warned the prime minister in June that there were 25,000 fewer candidates passing their test in 2020 than in 2019.

SO WHAT IS BEING DONE ABOUT THE SHORTAGES?

  • As well as allowing more foreign workers into the UK from October, Ministry of Defence examiners will be brought in to increase the number of HGV driving tests.
  • There will be free intensive ‘boot camps’ to train 3,000 people to become HGV drivers, with another 1,000 to be trained through courses funded by the adult education budget.
  • The government is also writing to nearly one million drivers who hold an HGV licence to encourage them to return to the industry.
  • It has also slightly relaxed the Drivers’ Hours rules, which means drivers will be able to increase their daily driving limit from nine hours to 11 hours twice a week.
  • A government spokesperson said longer journeys “must only be used where necessary and must not compromise driver safety”.
  • And there is £7,000 per person funding for the Large Goods Vehicle Driver apprenticeship scheme.

THERE IS SO MUCH PRESS RELATING TO THIS WE COULD GO ON FOR AGES!

HOWEVER ONE GOOD THING POTENTIALLY THAT WILL COME FROM THIS IS THE SURGE IN INTEREST FROM WOMEN DRIVERS!


Lorry driver shortage… time to tempt female truckers?

With the UK facing a chronic shortage of lorry drivers, limiting supplies of everything from Coca-Cola and beer to McDonald’s milkshakes, and even Nando’s chicken, could female drivers be a saving grace for supply chains across the country?
As haulage firms try to attract more women to the profession – currently only 1% of truck drivers are female.

It’s even a big topic on THIS MORNING!

We like to think we’re forward thinking in our approach to recruitment and hopefully this driver shortage will encourage more female drivers to look for a change of career.

We’d love to hear from anyone (male or female) looking to return to HGV work or even a new challenge.

Get in contact and we’d be happy to discuss any possible vacancies we may have.