Rochdale charity helps former soldiers get into the lorry driving industry

Zoe Muldoon went to the unveiling of Veterans into Logistics' new trucks, and spoke to the veterans the charity has helped secure jobs.

A charity is helping military veterans get into the lorry driving industry, in an effort to reduce homelessness and unemployment among the ex-military community.

Veterans into Logistics provides free training to veterans while also covering the costs of getting a HGV licence.

Once they are fully qualified, the Rochdale-based charity then works with businesses like Muller and Asda to secure them stable and well paying jobs.

Darren Wright set up the charity in 2020, after his friend and veteran took his own life due to the struggles of transitioning into civilian life.

Darren said: "When you leave the military the transition can be hard. If they haven't got a skill it's hard to find employment."

Darren himself served as a paratrooper in the military for six years, and also struggled when he left the army in 2004 and returned to Manchester.

He said: "I did struggle, I fell by the wayside. I went down the wrong way and was handed a custodial sentence, but it was prison that saved my life. I got the treatment I needed."

Once Darren left prison, he was able to get a job as a lorry driver.

When Darren left the army in 2004, he found it tough to return to civilian life.

He said: "I was fortunate to get my HGV licence in the military... but if they haven't got a skill, some could end up homeless or worse they could take their own life.

"That’s why I founded Veterans into Logistics; to help those veterans that do struggle by upskilling them and training them to become HGV drivers."

One of the veterans the charity has helped is Abi Howard, who joined the army when she was 15.

Abi, from Elland, served in the Royal Artillery, but when a skiing accident led to her being medically discharged she faced an uncertain future.

She said: "If I didn’t have veterans into logistics I wouldn’t have a job I don’t think.

"I always said as a kid when we were driving past lorries I'd love to do that... But i was trying to get a job doing lorry driving but you need to get your CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) and I couldn't get it anywhere."

Unable to secure a job, Abi reached out to Veterans into Logistics.

She said: "Veterans into Logistics just put me straight through it. Then they set me up with Muller and it’s plain sailing from there.

"It’s like a weight lifted off my shoulders massively."

As well as Abi, brothers Brian and Carl Smith have both seen their lives change after they received training from Veterans into Logistics.

Both Brian and Carl joined the army in 1979 and 1980 respectively, and despite both leaving the military just under 20 years ago they're still working together as lorry drivers for Asda thanks to the charity.

Carl (left) and Brian (right) served in the military for more than 20 years, and now work together as lorry drivers for Asda.

Brian said: "I had more or less 18 years in the automotive industry in Liverpool... but then I had some personal issues and left my job and ended up coming to Veterans into Logistics.

"They helped me out through a really dark stage in my life."

Carl added: "I'm one of the more fortunate ones, to be honest, because thankfully I haven't struggled with any mental health issues.

"I was just out of a job and needed work... To get the opportunity to come and do it and to go through the mechanics of it has been amazing."

On 24 November, the charity announced it had secured three new lorries with which they can train up to 150 veterans a year.

Two of the new trucks were donated by Asda and Volva, while a grant was used to pay for the third.

Two of the trucks were donated by Volvo and Asda, while the third was purchased using a grant from the Veterans' Foundation.

The Vice President of Asda's Logistics Services, Chris Hall, was at the unveiling.

He said: "We asked the team what they needed from us to support them. It might not be massive in the grand scheme of things, but we're very conscious that anything that we can do will help the team.

"So when they start talking about vehicles and trailers, we've got plenty of those and it was my absolute pleasure to be able to support them with it."

Asda was one of the first company's to work with the charity to help veterans secure employment.

Chris said: "The story really resonated with us. At the time, actually we had a skill shortage, particularly for drivers, and we thought it was a real win win to help with Darren and the team here and also get some new colleagues into our business as well."

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