Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, addresses the Scottish Parliament on 19 January. Watch the video below and click "read more" to view the text of the speech.
Mark McDonald (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP):
I, too, congratulate my colleague Chic Brodie on securing the debate. Christian Allard spoke about media depictions of female lorry drivers. In thinking about the debate and the issue of female lorry drivers, I remembered watching the cartoon “Pigeon Street” when I was growing up, in which one of the main characters was a female long-distance lorry driver called Clara. Perhaps we need more media depictions of female drivers to encourage more women to consider driving lorries as a viable career choice that is open to them. More broadly, we need to ensure that any media portrayals of the haulage industry are positive. In the past, there have been negative portrayals, which can have an impact on whether people are attracted to the industry.
The first of the specific areas that I want to cover is the opportunities that can arise from difficulties in sectors. We know that the haulage industry is going through a difficult time—somewhere in the region of 1,500 drivers a year for the next 10 years are required to bridge the skills gap that has been identified.
In my and Christian Allard’s area, the oil and gas industry is experiencing a downturn, with a large number of individuals potentially facing redundancy. I have had a meeting with Jason Moir of Dyce Carriers and Bill Walker of William Walker Transport—both are based in my constituency—and, in light of those discussions, coupled with the issues facing the offshore sector, I have written to the First Minister to ask for the RHA to be considered for involvement in the energy jobs task force. Our first efforts should be to prevent redundancy in the offshore sector wherever possible, but if there are going to be redundancies, we should look at whether any opportunities might arise as a result that organisations such as the RHA and the haulage industry could capitalise on through people reskilling and retraining.
That brings me to training. I welcome the response that I received from the cabinet secretary, Roseanna Cunningham, who wrote to me to advise that small businesses can apply for up to £5,000 towards employee training costs, with a refund of up to 50 per cent of the costs for each employee up to a maximum of £500. The difficulty that haulage firms are facing is that, if individuals are to obtain employment from those firms, they need first to have undertaken the training and passed their HGV test. That is an issue for the Scottish Government and the UK Government. We need to look at what can be put in place to support individuals, particularly those who are looking to reskill and move from another career into the haulage industry. The £5,000 to cover training is a substantial sum of money. That is particularly the case when an individual has faced redundancy or is looking to move from one career into another.
That brings me to insurance, which I raised earlier in the debate. Insurance firms absolutely have to be part of the conversation. If an individual is qualified as an HGV driver, it should not matter whether they are 21 or 31; there should be no age-based discrimination for insurance. If an individual who has the required qualifications runs the risk of losing out on a position because it would cost the company more to insure them, that needs to be addressed.
I welcome the debate that Chic Brodie has brought to the chamber and the action that he has highlighted is being taken. More needs to be done, perhaps, and some organisations need to be brought into the discussion. I am positive that the opportunities are out there; the question is whether they can be capitalised upon.
I, too, congratulate my colleague Chic Brodie on securing the debate. Christian Allard spoke about media depictions of female lorry drivers. In thinking about the debate and the issue of female lorry drivers, I remembered watching the cartoon “Pigeon Street” when I was growing up, in which one of the main characters was a female long-distance lorry driver called Clara. Perhaps we need more media depictions of female drivers to encourage more women to consider driving lorries as a viable career choice that is open to them. More broadly, we need to ensure that any media portrayals of the haulage industry are positive. In the past, there have been negative portrayals, which can have an impact on whether people are attracted to the industry.
The first of the specific areas that I want to cover is the opportunities that can arise from difficulties in sectors. We know that the haulage industry is going through a difficult time—somewhere in the region of 1,500 drivers a year for the next 10 years are required to bridge the skills gap that has been identified.
In my and Christian Allard’s area, the oil and gas industry is experiencing a downturn, with a large number of individuals potentially facing redundancy. I have had a meeting with Jason Moir of Dyce Carriers and Bill Walker of William Walker Transport—both are based in my constituency—and, in light of those discussions, coupled with the issues facing the offshore sector, I have written to the First Minister to ask for the RHA to be considered for involvement in the energy jobs task force. Our first efforts should be to prevent redundancy in the offshore sector wherever possible, but if there are going to be redundancies, we should look at whether any opportunities might arise as a result that organisations such as the RHA and the haulage industry could capitalise on through people reskilling and retraining.
That brings me to training. I welcome the response that I received from the cabinet secretary, Roseanna Cunningham, who wrote to me to advise that small businesses can apply for up to £5,000 towards employee training costs, with a refund of up to 50 per cent of the costs for each employee up to a maximum of £500. The difficulty that haulage firms are facing is that, if individuals are to obtain employment from those firms, they need first to have undertaken the training and passed their HGV test. That is an issue for the Scottish Government and the UK Government. We need to look at what can be put in place to support individuals, particularly those who are looking to reskill and move from another career into the haulage industry. The £5,000 to cover training is a substantial sum of money. That is particularly the case when an individual has faced redundancy or is looking to move from one career into another.
That brings me to insurance, which I raised earlier in the debate. Insurance firms absolutely have to be part of the conversation. If an individual is qualified as an HGV driver, it should not matter whether they are 21 or 31; there should be no age-based discrimination for insurance. If an individual who has the required qualifications runs the risk of losing out on a position because it would cost the company more to insure them, that needs to be addressed.
I welcome the debate that Chic Brodie has brought to the chamber and the action that he has highlighted is being taken. More needs to be done, perhaps, and some organisations need to be brought into the discussion. I am positive that the opportunities are out there; the question is whether they can be capitalised upon.
