A leading figure at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has warned of skills shortages in the logistics sector.

Policy advisor Ben Farber pointed towards figures from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, which highlighted a sharp decline in the number of C and C+E test passes in the UK every year since 2005 (barring a slight rise in 2011).

He added that the REC/KPMG Report on Jobs has shown that employers have bemoaned a shortage of drivers nearly every month for the past two years and the situation appears to be getting worse, as the current workforce is ageing rapidly.

"There are nearly as many over 60 year olds as there are under 30 year olds - unheard of in any other sector of the UK economy," Mr Farber remarked.

In the past, UK haulage firms were able to recruit qualified HGV operators from the EU, but wage stagnation has meant European drivers are now far more reluctant to move to Britain.

Mr Farber thinks the impending CPC training regulations will only make skills shortages more pronounced.