Decarbonising the UK’s commercial fleets depends heavily on upskilling drivers and managers rather than relying solely on technology, according to a new report by the Road Haulage Association (RHA).

The report, titled Driving the Transition: Preparing the Road Transport Workforce For Net Zero, warns that the transition to low- and zero-emission vehicles is a workforce challenge as much as a technology one.

Based on in-depth interviews with operators, manufacturers and sector bodies, the guide sets out the skills that HGV, coach and van operators will need if decarbonisation is to be practical, achievable and commercially viable.

Drivers will need to understand charging procedures, range optimisation and energy-efficient driving. Technicians will have to maintain diesel, battery-electric and potentially hydrogen vehicles side by side. Transport managers and depot managers will increasingly manage energy as well as fleets.

The report stresses that a one-size-fits-all approach to training will fail. A coach operator running home-to-school services faces different challenges from a long-haul haulier, and the skills needed to run an electric urban van fleet are not those needed for long-distance work. Training provision must reflect real world operational realities rather than assume one solution works everywhere.

Smaller businesses face the steepest barriers. More than nine in 10 freight operators employ 10 people or fewer, and two thirds of coach operators run 15 vehicles or fewer.

The report also finds the skills system is not responding quickly enough. Apprenticeship standards can take years to update, leaving new technology running ahead of the training available to support it. Road freight and logistics is not one of the Industrial Strategy’s priority sectors, which weakens its position in local skills plans.

Richard Smith, RHA managing director, said: “Decarbonisation will not be delivered by fixed targets or technology alone. It will be delivered by people.

“Drivers, technicians, engineers, transport managers, planners and business leaders will all need new knowledge and skills. Green skills and digital skills are increasingly part of the same conversation.

“This transition has to be developed with our industry, and it has to work whether you run one van, a coach fleet or hundreds of lorries.

“Vehicles. Infrastructure. Energy. Investment. Regulation. Skills. People. Every part is connected, and progress in one without progress in the others will not deliver the transition we need.”

To resolve this crisis, the RHA is calling for:

• A coordinated UK-wide approach so skills and qualifications transfer across devolved and regional boundaries
• A regularly reviewed training pathway for road transport decarbonisation, led by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) with each devolved nation’s skills body and industry representation
• A public portfolio of high-quality training resources covering zero-emission vehicles, energy systems, digital capability and artificial intelligence
• More flexible apprenticeship funding, including wider access to short apprenticeship units for upskilling the existing workforce
• Flexible and short, modular courses
• A mechanism for rapid course development and funding in response to emerging technologies
• Long-term, cross-party policy certainty so employers and training providers can invest with confidence

The RHA’s report on Driving the Transition: Preparing the Road Transport Workforce For Net Zero is online here.