Graduate drivers? No jokes. Leyland on course

Ramesh Kumar from Greater Noida

"Dad, he was an MBA," exclaimed daughter the day after she cabbed from Gurugram to Greater Noida recently past midnight. The "he" was the Uber driver. An MBA opting to drive a cab was a novelty to her. Not to me. I have met and traveled with several over the years. Why a cab? I ran into an engineering graduate - a Bengali - at a highway dhaba near Ongole in the undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2012 while on a truck trip from Jamshedpur to Chennai in an airconditioned Tata Prima with Tata Steel load for Toll Global Logistics with two drivers. 

The Bengali graduate driver's practical but pain-filled comment, "The only job readily available for me was this job. I tried many places and was ready to locate anywhere in India but there was no job offer. If something was available, the pay was around Rs.10,000," painted the sorry state of affairs with India. As a truck driver, he was making at least thrice the amount he was offered as a white-collar candidate when I met him. 

The job statistics are grim and alarming too. The latest Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) reports that the total number of employed individuals fell from 399.38 million in July 2021 to 397.78 million in August. That is, 15 lakh people lost jobs in August, accounting for job loss in both the formal and informal sectors. It is distressing to note that the national unemployment rate jumped to 8.32% in August after falling to 6.95% in July. 

Not to be missed is the growing gross domestic product (GDP) figures. The latest Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) reports that the total number of employed individuals fell from 399.38 million in July 2021 to 397.78 million in August. That is, 15 lakh people lost jobs in August, accounting for job loss in both the formal and informal sectors. It is distressing to note that the national unemployment rate jumped to 8.32% in August after falling to 6.95% in July. 

The 20.1% 2021-22 first-quarter growth is nothing to sing and dance. Why? Because of the low base on which it was based. India is yet to regain the 2019-20 first-quarter levels. Yes, it was better than the previous benchmark, warranting caution. 

Where did the growth happen? Construction grew by 69%, trade, hotel, transport, and communication were up by 34.5%. What is more significant, however, is the growth in manufacturing and mining: 50% and 19% respectively. The last two elements are of significance because it involves a big boost for the transport sector. 

Yet, the future is uncertain and unpredictable. Job loss has to be halted and the growth of job opportunities has to be jacked up. Whatever growth posted came definitely from good consumption spend. More unemployment translates into less spending power. With no money in pocket, consumption takes a hit and this automatically affects production and investment. It is a vicious circle.

Here, it is pertinent to draw attention to the fact that there is a 22% shortage of truck drivers in India especially. Commercial vehicles are going hi-tech. More electronic gadgets in driver cabins and more digital monitoring to improve operational efficiency.

Yes, there is a huge job opportunity in the transportation section per se. Am talking about the job of truck drivers, not the holistic logistic vertical. Despite the government lowering the educational qualification to become eligible for obtaining a driving license, better-educated candidates would be welcome. 

Perhaps the entry of better-educated candidates may lead to improved behavior from the highway authorities - the corrupt RTOs across the country - since they may have to deal with a better informed and knowledgeable workforce. Sure, it is a high hope. 

Commercial vehicle manufacturers can facilitate this by promoting truck driving as a viable career option for graduates. Remember the most-celebrated female truck driver Yogita Raghuvanshi is a graduate! Besides being a female, her education stands her in good stead when dealing with highway vultures. "Not that there are no challenges, but can handle them better," she concedes. 

Assuming HCV OEMs consider promoting truck driving as a career option for graduates, what about fleet owners? Will they be ready to absorb them? A moot question. Young and third-generation Gaurav Vyas, Director-owner of Indore-based fleet owning Delhi-Faridabad Roadlines, greenlights the idea of graduate drivers. 

Himself an MBA, he succinctly points out, "my drivers (not graduates) make nothing less than Rs.25,000 plying between Indore and NCR whereas a graduate can never imagine earning beyond Rs.10,000 per month. The only hitch is that driving is looked down upon." 

Ramesh Venkat of Logistics Sector Skill Development Council echoes Vyas sentiment. "Until and unless the dignity of labor change, nothing else would," opines he. All talk about drivers being the backbone of the economy and Drivers Day celebrations, Venkat adds, is a "mere lip service". Vyas is optimistic about the level of highway corruption coming down with the induction of graduate drivers. "Education is the key. The educated drivers will herald a positive change," says Vyas. 

Nijum Riyaz, Principal of Telangana-based Leyland Driver Training Insitute, has set a target of roping in graduates for driver training. "By 2025, I am hopeful of realizing this," says he. He admits the task is challenging. "Catch them young is my route. I have been tapping youngsters in remote villages, unemployed in the age group of 20 and 28 years and confident of local support," adds he. 

Simultaneously, the Kollam/Kerala-born Leyland Riyaz is knocking on the doors of fleet owners in Telengana appraising them of the advantages of hiring better-educated truck drivers. Everything takes time but he is super uber of trucks on Indian highways plying with graduate drivers at the wheels.

Adds Chennai-based Mohammed Ali, Head-Driver Training Institutes, Ashok Leyland: "Out of every 50 member batch training course at Kaithal, Haryana, at least 10 will be graduates. They have been appraised of truck driver job opportunities in Canada mostly where a huge payout is promised. Therefore, they flock to our Kaithal Institute." Wow! Ashok Leyland runs almost a dozen DTIs in various states of India in association with respective state governments. According to Ali, 1-2% of wannabe truck drivers across his institutes are graduates. 

Y P Jain, founder president of All India Transporters Welfare Association and a lawyer-turned-transporter, welcomes the idea of roping in graduates into trucking. "Look at the job prospects in India. But we have a huge opening in trucking. They can walk in anytime to take up the job (after the proper certification)," elaborates he. Jain is positive that these better-educated drivers would lead to lesser corruption on highways because they "can tackle them by asking pertinent questions and if necessary take it up with the higher authorities on their own". 

On the surface, it appears there is a total buy-in of this concept of graduate drivers among fleet owners and driver trainers. Yes, the stigma attached to the truck driving profession has to be addressed with all seriousness it deserves. The shortage of drivers can be bridgeable with the job-seeking youth. A pure vanilla degree is NOT going to get any decent job with decent remuneration. Truck driving is a viable and sustainable career option. Money is good. Freeride to see a vast nation such as India. And, last but not the least, freedom. Yes, the big elephant in the room is the stigma angle, which calls for a societal transformation. Time is ripe and it calls for collective action.  With automation slowly creeping in removing a lot of low-hanging jobs for which the Indian education system is preparing with less focus on skilling and more on rote method, the future job scenario is bleak. Luckily, the truck driving career option is on tap. Worth selling to undergraduates. 

Yes, there is some reservation about graduate drivers. Will they stick with truck driving? Is it going to be a temporary perch till they get a white-collar desk job, even with a low salary? For instance, the job of a cook was never considered a preferred career option once upon a time. Today there is a mushrooming growth of catering colleges. My nephew came out with a catering degree, worked at several top-notch five-star and deluxe joints before settling down in Norway as Chief Chef of an Indian restaurant. Today, he is the pride of our family! Several such jobs undergo such a slow evolutionary process. One day truck driving may achieve that status, hopefully. Leyland Riyaz is at the forefront of this goal. 

Leyland Riyaz dreams of Circa 2025 for graduate drivers at the wheels on the Indian highways. Worth pursuing. Good luck, Riyaz!