More women are undertaking LGV training and moving into the professional driver industry, according to new analysis by RED Corporate Driver Training.
The fleet training specialist crunched the latest data from the Department for Transport, which shows a total of 8,732 women took a practical LGV test in 2021/22 – up 188% on the figure of 3,024 from a decade ago (2011/12).
A test pass enables a person to drive LGVs in the C1 and C1E (3.5-7.5 tonnes/plus trailer) or C and CE (3.7-32 tonnes/plus trailer) categories.
A greater percentage of women are also qualifying; the pass rate for the test has increased from 53% in 2011/12 to 62.4% in 2021/22 – the latter figure exceeding their male counterparts who recorded a 58.7% pass rate.
RED Corporate Driver Training said the official figures chimed with its own experiences in training female drivers.
Karen Mallin Page, one of the RED Corporate Driver Training trainers, said: “It’s great to see more women being trained, getting qualified and moving into the professional driver industry.
“As a sector, it is more specialised, and requiring more technical expertise, than ever, and as a result women can really thrive in this environment. In terms of training, we see increasing numbers of women coming through and their commitment to being trained and getting qualified is second to none.
“I would encourage any woman thinking of a career as a professional driver to come and speak to us. As a major corporate training provider, we have the facilities at places such as at our Donington headquarters, and support and infrastructure in person and online, to provide a very positive, professional learning experience.”
