Deadlines, challenges and migration

Grahame Neagus, Head of LCV, Renault Trucks UK & Ireland

While the destination is clear, the journey for many may seem uncertain. However, with datelines now drawn in the sand by the EU, our own Government and even local government, we all need to hit certain targets by certain times.

Time is one element of this, and time is also ticking for our industry in a different way. Why? Let me explain.

Like many of my colleagues and friends, I have been doing the job I love for nearly 40 years. With that comes a wealth of experience that I use each and every single day, however I won’t be around forever. Right across our industry, we need to start succession planning.

Recruitment challenges are real, as a recent conversation with the MD of one of our most trusted bodybuilders highlighted, “The younger people just don’t see the value and the development opportunities in commercial body building anymore and are not willing to learn their trade at the rates we are able to pay. They think it as being lower than what they believe they are worth yet they know nothing in the type of work we need them to undertake. My most experienced builders won’t be around forever and need them to pass on their skills to the next generation but even if find them, it’s so difficult to make them stay during their learning phase which let’s face it, is not a five-minute exercise.”

Workshops up and down the UK are facing a similar story. Over the next decade we need to have the next generation excited to follow on behind, keen to learn these highly skilled jobs from their managers, ready to fill the shoes of those experienced people. And as we transition to zero-emission vehicles, we need the industry to invest in the new skills and expertise to keep up with the growth in technology.

It is clear that we urgently need to reframe the narrative to attract and retain young talent. Fast moving, fast paced and high tech, this is an industry with great prospects and a sustainable future, transitioning from diesel technology to electric mobility and hydrogen. These are exciting times for transport.

At OEM level here at Renault Trucks, we certainly have highly focused plans already in place and are delivering new electric training modules that are being used daily in our dealer network’s workshops as more electric vehicles are delivered. For Renault Trucks, electric mobility is a journey that we have been working on for years to reach this point, and it is a continual evolution. It is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

For parts and aftersales management, there is relatively little change. The processes of selling and distributing parts today for an ICE engine is the same for alternatively-fuelled vehicles, it’s just a different part that needs to be delivered in the most effective and efficient manner.

Sales, however, is not quite so easy and certainly here at Renault Trucks, we have taken this seriously, investing in the training and development that ensures our OEM teams and dealer network are experts in electric mobility to support customers on their transition to a decarbonised fleet. All of us, from OEM, dealers and body builder to operators and drivers, must make our industry and our own businesses more attractive to those starting out in their careers. I am positive that FormulaE faced similar challenges in wrestling fans away from F1 into their own brand of racing, yet it has happened and they have made it look and feel inspiring and aspirational, with many of their attributes now coming into F1 itself.

We need to do the same if we are to attract the next generation into our businesses and keep the great tradition of what we all do alive today and tomorrow. For younger workers who value organisations that have a positive impact on the world, the decarbonisation of the transport and logistics industry is ideally placed to appeal. These are exciting times both for those already in our sector and for those new entrants on the first rung of the ladder, with strong growth and opportunities for career progression ahead. We need to share a commitment to innovation, technology and the environment to inspire more to join our industry on the road to net zero.

As an industry we all have a responsibility to our future. We do not own what we have today, we are simply looking after and nurturing it for the next generation, and this is now driving many of the decisions we are having to take. It looks like over my long career, it is going to be the next ten years that will experience the most seismic change and, while it might not always be easy, there are exciting times ahead.