The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) is inviting truck drivers to take part in Security Awareness Training courses to improve their personal safety and improve the operational reliability of road feeder services.
The program is open to 50,000 candidates based in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Total cost of the initiative: EUR 1.3 million. Yet, the courses are free of charge for applicants from TAPA member companies.
The step aligns with TAPA EMEA’s commitment to increasing safe and secure parking across the region – particularly in Europe, where parking spaces for trucks along highways are often overcrowded in the evening and at night. With its initiative, the organization also supports its new Certified Carrier Exchange to tackle the issue of escalating freight fraud and to enable companies to book transport shipments with trusted, TAPA TSR (Trucking Security Requirements) certified operators. For more detailed information, CargoForwarder Global recommends reading TIACA’s Driver Security Guide, available in 17 languages, that can be downloaded free from its website.
“Supply chains do not work without drivers – and this applies to all modes of transport: air freight, ocean freight to road freight and rail freight. But strong messages about driver shortages, an ageing driver population, and the struggle to attract young people as well as more women to consider driving as a safe and rewarding profession, have failed to bring about significant improvements,” stated Thorsten Neumann, President & CEO of TAPA EMEA, at his organization’s meeting in Oberhausen, Germany.
Gangs are increasingly brazen
The official went on to say: “We want to make a measurable difference, and this new benefit for TAPA EMEA members is the largest driver training initiative in our 26-year history. The [Security Awareness Training courses] aim to keep more drivers safe and to send the strongest possible signal that we are listening to drivers’ and employers’ concerns and investing in solutions that contribute to the security of today’s driver community. We also hope it will resonate with others considering a driving career.”
The training highlights cargo theft risks and the crime gangs’ fast spreading variety of tactics or Modus Operandi (M.O.), targeting trucks and drivers, depending on their structure and goals. It also considers threats posed by illegal migration and smuggling – and offers practical advice to drivers to protect their own safety and that of the shipments they carry.
The course is self-paced. The only requirement specified is that drivers must complete the course within one month of registering for the training.
Growing cargo thefts
In the last two years, TAPA’s intelligence system (TIS) has recorded over 112,000 cargo crime incidents in 116 countries in EMEA, mostly targeting trucks as well as vans performing last-mile deliveries. When considering that the loss value for just 5% of these crimes was EUR 2.6+ billion, it is easy to understand why criminals see road transport as such a big, lucrative and low risk target.
Thorsten Neumann underlined: “It is essential that all employees feel safe at work, but drivers mostly work alone and this increases their vulnerability. When you add personal security concerns to the lack of safe parking places, having to work irregular hours, driver fatigue, spending long periods away from home, poor working conditions, and the high cost of acquiring a heavy goods vehicle license, it also explains why the IRU, the World Road Transport Organisation, says there are around 500,000 unfilled positions for professional drivers in the EU alone.”
Unless this recruitment challenge is addressed, today’s seamless supply chains will start to face significant hiccups. The average European driver is now 47 years old, and a large percentage are over 55 years of age. In countries like Germany, Neumann added, up to 30,000 drivers retire annually, while only 15,000 new entrants are recruited to replace them.
Drivers wanted!
Transportation associations complain that over 50% of European trucking companies report driver shortages – a factor that is preventing them from expanding their business. This negatively impacts the entire RFS network and slows down supply chains.
At its 2026 Annual Conference in Oberhausen, Germany, the Association announced its support for a new Certified Carrier Exchange, developed by Trans.eu Group in close coordination with TAPA. The Exchange – now live – is designed to connect companies with trusted, security-certified transport providers in a closed, premium environment.
The core functionality revolves around providing reliable, verified, and TAPA-compliant capacity to shippers and freight forwarders, while simultaneously offering new business opportunities to carriers that adhere to TAPA’s security requirements.
