A Teesside transport firm has turned to overseas help to plug the skills gap in its industry. 
Stockton-based Stiller Group has recruited around 30 skilled Polish workers as it becomes increasingly difficult to find new recruits on home turf. It is a move that is helping the company continue to grow - and give a new future to overseas workers and their families. Staff shortages in the haulage industry is a growing issue. "Last year we suffered significant problems," said Mark Appleyard, business director at Stiller. "There's just not enough drivers out there. "So we decided to look abroad for staff." Working with recruitment agencies, it now has workers from Poland and Lithuania on its books. Stiller Group employs 753 staff nationwide - with more than 320 based on Teesside. To meet its staffing needs, it needs to recruit around 15-30 drivers every year. "It's an industry where people have to work long hours and drive on congested roads," said Mr Appleyard. "The demands on tanker drivers are high, there's a lot of legislation they have to understand as well as rules and regulations when transporting goods and visiting chemical sites. "It's not an easy job, the cost of entering the profession has become more expensive and we just don't have enough people coming into the industry in this country. But taking on overseas workers means we've had the driver capacity to take on new contracts and win new work." Malcolm Dodds, Northern region area manager for the Road Haulage Association, said driver shortages was an issue continuing to effect the industry. "We've seen an increasing shortage over the last 18 month to two year," he said. "It's getting more difficult to fill vacancies so more and more companies are looking to use foreign drivers. "Obviously we'd like to see more UK drivers being recruited, but it's becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to do that. "Many foreign drivers want to come and work in the UK, they do a good job and their quality of their work is high." Stiller's overseas recruitment drive has proved a huge success - and its retention rate for foreign workers is almost 100pc. All foreign drivers are given English language training, capability and competency tests and are prepared for life on Teesside. The firm has worked with local colleges to offer English lessons and its own training staff put foreign workers through an intensive induction scheme to ensure they are fully prepared when they take to the road. But Stiller's even has its own in-house interpreter. Dariusz Chrzanowski came to the company to help Polish workers integrate more easily into the world of work on Teesside. But he has now joined Stiller's on a full-time basis as a shift traffic operator - remaining on hand to help with any translation problems or queries from the Polish staff. "This isn't just a quick fix to the problem" said Mr Appleyard. "We want foreign workers to stay with us long term." Stiller's helps people relocating to Teesside find a place to stay - and leases a number of properties in the Eaglescliffe area. "We want them to live in nice homes, in good areas so they become part of the local community," added Mr Appleyard. And it's not just the haulage industry facing staff shortages - and looking overseas for staff. Bus operator Arriva has recruited Polish workers to fill a shortage in drivers and the NHS is making use of overseas staff. Unions have welcomed the arrival of foreign workers where an industry is facing staff shortages. Allan Gray, of the Transport and General Workers' Union on Teesside, said: "It's a welcome requirement for industries where there is a major shortage of staff." He said the union now had application forms in a number of languages - including Polish - so foreign workers can sign up for trade union support. "It's vital these people are offered the same terms and conditions and are treated no differently to UK workers. "Things seems to be working well with companies who now have overseas staff. They are integrating well and have been made very welcome." Stiller Group is continuing its search for staff. "This is a long-term recruitment process," added Mr Appleyard. "We'll be looking to take on other drivers from Poland. "It's certainly been an interesting experience for us, and we see it as an investment in the company's future. "It's also good to have a mix of workers here - it's making us a little more cosmopolitan." | 
Business Comment
Enterprise North East
Evening Gazette's
