In order to try and combat the problem, some haulage companies have partnered with lorry driving schools to get prospective staff trained up.
The bill is footed by the road transport companies, and those who pass their test are guaranteed a job. Some Bosnian hauliers are even paying for the insurance of its new drivers too, reports national media outlet klix.ba.
Damir Numić, who runs an international haulage company based in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told klix.ba that his company has HR staff dedicated to finding new drivers everyday. His haulage outfit are one of those in the country willing to fork out for training and tests in order to recruit new drivers. The company are said to be promoting the scheme to school leavers among other target groups.
Eldin Ćivić, another transport boss, also spoke to klix.ba about the problem of truckers leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina to take up jobs abroad:
“People are leaving for a better existence – they are looking for jobs in Germany and Slovenia, where there are subsidies for transport while we bear the costs ourselves. We had a problem with coronavirus, and now the war in Ukraine, rising prices of oil and parts, and increasingly difficult working conditions. The state should take some steps to retain young people by reducing contributions and VAT, because in the coming years, we expect an even greater outflow of labour when taking into account the overall situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” says Ćivić.
Driving school boss Emir Ajanović was another individual quoted in the klix.ba report.
He is understandably satisfied by the extra business and was keen to promote HGV driving to prospective truckers:
“In Bosnia and Herzegovina, everything is possible – you can pass your driver’s license with 0KM [of experience] and get a job as a truck or bus driver at the end of it. We have accepted this cooperation with domestic businesses who have a labour shortage. There are people interested, and we sincerely hope that in this way, the problem of professional drivers will be partially solved. The people who get trained will eventually be drivers in the mentioned companies,” says Ajanović.
Photo: Eao-be, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)
