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Free lorry licence training for women. „Let them take the challenge”

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A Polish organization has an idea of how to attract more women to the profession of a truck driver. The candidates get a lorry license, training set, including eco-driving, and even a guarantee of employment – all this for free is offered to women by the Lodz Association of International Carriers and Forwarders.

Driving a truck is not so difficult. Cars are now so well equipped that a woman does not have to carry anything. In addition, ladies are very well received by men in this profession – encourages Dorota Sołtys from LSPMiS. – The driver is still a typically masculine profession, but it can change. We have gender equality, so we encourage women to take up the challenge.

Applicants will save from 3 to 4 thousand euro. The project is financed by the European Union and therefore it is free of charge. What’s more, as Dorota Sołtys assures, after gaining the rights, women who participate in the program will not have any difficulty finding a job.

Our association brings together various carriers who are looking for drivers and often contact us regarding this matter. They confirmed that the ladies will be able to work for them” – she assures.

Will the secretaries now drive a forklift truck?

Women who qualify for the training must be at least 21 years old and have a B category driving license. Another important condition is that they must be unemployed or threatened with loss of employment.

It is about employees from companies whose bosses know that the situation on the labor market is such that they will soon be dismissing employees or reorganizing certain positions. Women can, therefore, retrain, thus finding employment in a different industry, or stay in their current job, but in a different position. For example, a secretary can start working in a warehouse and drive a forklift truck” – explains Dorota Sołtys.

There will be an offer for men

Why is this program only for women? It was decided … EU requirements. When LSPMiS applied for EU funding, at the application stage it had to set up what percentage of recipients would be women. Because in practice it turned out that there are not enough ladies willing to spend money to enter the profession, an incentive was a necessary condition. Otherwise, the project indicators would not be implemented.

So far, around 25 women from the entire region have used the training opportunity” – says Dorota Sołtys.

Five new EU projects will be launched from October, thanks to which everyone, not just women, will be able to get a truck license for free.

Any initiative that will result in more professional drivers on the labor market deserves praise. Every year, more people leave the profession (mainly for retirement), although the demand for transport is growing” – says Marcin Wolak from the TransJobs.eu recruitment platform.

– Fortunately, the interest in this profession among women is growing, so it seems that the organizers of this type of training should not have a problem finding applicants. This is evidenced by the data – our portal has registered over 300 women who would like to or plan to make a driving license for trucks in the near future. This is very promising – he adds.

Photo: Trans.INFO

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