Müller launches major recruitment drive for drivers

Müller Milk & Ingredients has launched a significant push to recruit more drivers.

The business is looking to fill over 150 vacancies to ensure that it can continue to deliver service levels of over 99 per cent for its private label dairy customers.

There are full time and part time vacancies nationwide, ranging from HGV drivers, driver trainers and driver apprentices, to dairy production and distribution operatives.

Jon Jenkins, chief executive at Müller Milk & Ingredients said their business model proved “exceptionally resilient” amid the industry wide driver shortage in 2021, successfully delivering over 99% of deliveries to retail partners over the course of the year.

“The key to this success was threefold: the vast majority of our logistics operations are in-house rather than outsourced to a third-party, we were able to work really closely and collaboratively with our customers and supplying farmers to find the right solutions, and of course, none of this would have been possible without the ongoing commitment and loyalty of our hard-working colleagues,” he said.

Jenkins added that labour shortages, despite the above measures, are one of the key issues facing the food supply chain.

“That’s why our message is simple, if you have the necessary skills and qualifications to come and work at Müller Milk & Ingredients, then we would love to hear from you. Our milk can be in fridges within only two days of leaving the farm, but we need great people to make that happen.”

In 2021, MMI was able to leverage its logistics partnership with sister company Culina Group, a leading UK based food and drinks logistics provider with over 5,000 vehicles, 22,000 employees at peak and 20 million square feet of warehousing.

The dairy company said it also modernised its terms and conditions to enable it to attract and retain suitable candidates.

The business is also helping its employees gain their driver qualifications. Through its apprenticeship scheme and an in-house ‘Warehouse to Wheels’ training programme, several individuals have already become full time HGV drivers, with more currently progressing through their training.

Müller is also working collaboratively with organisations like Veterans into Logistics, who help place highly-trained ex-military personnel into work within the logistics industry.