Dixons Carphone, the business behind Currys PC World and Carphone Warehouse, has announced a UK nationwide campaign to recruit, retain and retrain 7.5t drivers.

In response to an industry-wide shortage and in a bid to remain competitive, Dixons Carphone is offering a sign-on bonus of £1,500 (€1,750) to new 7.5t drivers as well as paying a €1,750 retention bonus to existing 7.5t drivers. Staff elsewhere in the business who choose to retrain as a driver will be eligible for the sign-on bonus and colleagues who refer a friend for a driver vacancy can also secure a €1,170 reward.

Lindsay Haselhurst, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Dixons Carphone, said that the business isn’t stopping there.

“In order to play its part in resolving the national driver shortage, Dixons Carphone is throwing its weight behind upskilling new drivers,” said Haselhurst.

Launched this month, Dixons Carphone is running a scheme whereby anyone over the age of 21 who has held their UK Category B driving licence for more than a year will have the cost of their training and tests paid for by the company – an average investment of €1,750 per member of staff.

The scheme will see candidates complete their theory, Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) and their practical test, all the while gaining valuable on-the-job training – 7.5t drivers will also be trained up in health and safety and product installation at Dixons Carphone’s brand new technical training facilities.

Haselhurst added: “Our drivers are a vital part of our operation – our ambassadors on the road who perform the mammoth task of replenishing, delivering and installing hundreds of thousands of products every week, serving our stores as well as our customers in their homes.

“There is no better time to be joining Dixons Carphone, as we continue to invest in colleagues’ skills and reward, and we undergo our rebrand to one business – Currys. The pandemic has reinforced the important role vital technology plays in everyone’s lives today, so we’re looking for new drivers to join our fantastic team of capable and committed colleagues to help us continue to deliver on our vision of helping everyone enjoy amazing technology.”

Out on the road
Ineke Van der Veen, 49, has been a 7.5t driver at Dixons Carphone in Snodland, Kent, since July 2019, and loves her role.

As part of her job, she delivers goods from distribution centres to customers. She believes there’s no other job that allows you to visit different parts of the country and meet new people while benefitting from three days off a week, which enables her to spend time with her three grandchildren – and prepare for the next three, who are on their way.

She said: “I love driving, so being able to do something I love day in and day out is invaluable. I get to travel all around Southeast England and meet lots of different people – customers and colleagues alike – every day, and no two days are the same. To top it off, I then get to enjoy three full days off with my growing family! I’ve been in my current role for two years now and I can’t imagine doing anything else.”