A teenager from Kilmington in Devon is marking International Women’s Day on March 8th by swatting up for her HGV Operator’s Licence. When 19 year old Juliette Bostock passed her Class 1 HGV test at the first attempt, having only passed her car driving test less than a year before, the qualification took her a step closer to her dream of setting up a haulage company with her own fleet of lorries.
Traditionally seen as a male role, currently only 1% of HGV drivers in the UK are female. With a national shortage of delivery drivers, many industries hope to recruit women to fill these vacancies. To qualify, candidates need to do 35 hours of training, take five tests to gain their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence.
Juliette works at her parents’ business, Axe Skip Hire in Axminster, in the back office but is hoping to start doing deliveries from April. In her spare time she is a show jumper competing up to 1.20m on her horse Romeo. She is also studying for an apprenticeship in Equestrian Sporting Excellence, a level 3 advanced qualification equivalent to A Level, for elite athletes.
Juliette says: “My future plans are to carry on with my showjumping career, as well as starting a new haulage firm with my family. I want to be able to have it running successfully, as well as growing the company enough to then be able to start my own horse transportation nationally and internationally. This will then mean I can enjoy competing here and overseas, but it’s then paying for itself.”
Comments