Career change? Belgium urgently seeking 5,000 lorry drivers

Belgium urgently needs to hire more lorry drivers, with 5,000 vacant positions currently available, the Royal Belgian Federation of Transporters and Logistics Service Providers (Febetra) has warned.

"If we want store shelves to remain full in the future, more drivers are urgently needed," said Febetra spokeswoman Isabelle de Maegt.

To see what the consequences of having a shortage of lorry drivers are, we just need to look across the Channel at the UK where supermarket shelves are empty and drivers are panic-buying petrol.

"We fail to realise that without truck drivers, the world comes to a standstill," de Maegt added. "Without them, store shelves don’t get refilled, and construction sites and factories shut down."

Those interested in this profession can obtain more information on both the job and the vacancies at www.conducteurdepoidslourds.be.

To fill the thousands of vacant positions in Belgium, Febetra is also organising a Professional Lorry Driver Day on 9 December.