Spain| Madrid
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22 Dec 2020·People
Entering into force last month, a new Spanish law reduces the minimum age for driving commercial heavy goods vehicles to 18 and for passenger transport vehicles in international transport to 21, with the possibility for it to be reduced to 18 in the future.
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This has been a long-standing demand from the road transport industry to the Spanish Government. With the youth unemployment rate standing at over 40% in the country, reducing the minimum age will open up new job opportunities for out of work young people.
We asked the heads of several Spanish IRU members for their views.
What will be the key changes for the sector?
Ramón Valdivia, Director General of ASTIC, the Spanish International Road Transport Association:
We have always considered the three-year gap (and five in the case of passenger transport) between the age at which young people can complete high school education, which is 18, and the minimum age to have a truck driver’s licence, which was 21, to be a serious obstacle to young people joining the profession.
The shortage of young professional drivers in our country is acute, while the youth unemployment rate exceeds 40%. It is too early to anticipate how big the impact of this change in regulation will be, but it definitely has the potential to attract a new generation of younger drivers to the profession.
Francisco Iglesias Campos, CEO of ALSA, the leading coach operator in Spain:
The new law is a positive step. It will allow young people to become drivers and help Spanish companies fill vacant roles.
But there are other barriers that need to be removed in order to make this happen. The high cost of obtaining a professional licence, which is only possible at private schools, is an obstacle.
On the other hand, young drivers are sometimes perceived to be too immature for the serious responsibility of driving a coach. This needs to change. We need to convey the message that the training systems are robust and ensure safety. Data shows that road safety is not a matter of age.
What’s the next important step to make this work?
Rafael Barbadillo, President of CONFEBUS, the Spanish Confederation of Transport by Bus & Coach:
The passenger road transport sector is fundamental to our economy and society, as it drives growth and creates jobs. While the new reform will contribute to bringing young people closer to the profession, we must also work to ensure that this measure allows us to develop vocational training programmes with professional certifications that are adapted to the realities of the industry.
Francisco Iglesias Campos, CEO of ALSA:
The first step would be to raise public awareness of the advantages and employment opportunities in professional driving and the importance of the sector to wider business networks.
Another key step is to link the process of obtaining a driver’s licence to the regulated education system. Funding should be provided for training. The education authorities should also authorise training in private centres, which have the expertise and staff to conduct practical driver training.
Ovidio de la Roza, President of CETM, the Spanish Confederation of Goods Transport by Road:
Vocational training is something CETM has also been working on. In light of this new policy, we will redouble our efforts in two areas: ensuring that training responds to transport companies’ actual needs; and attracting young people to the profession, in an effort to reduce the driver shortage in our country.
Ramón Valdivia, Director General of ASTIC:
Access to the profession is, of course, not the only cause of driver shortages. Another important factor is the general lack of safe and secure parking areas and rest areas.
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Our drivers deserve to be treated with dignity, so the next logical steps when it comes to regulating the access to the profession are related to building appropriate infrastructure and ensuring safety.
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Do you think the new legislation will close the gap between school and the wheel?
Ovidio de la Roza, President of CETM:
Lowering the minimum age will help to attract many more young people to the profession. Spanish companies already offer dual training and learning programmes, which aim to connect education and employment. We are going to explore those and find the best ways to make the existing gap in the road transport industry disappear.
Rafael Barbadillo, President of CONFEBUS:
The recent and significant technological advances in professional road transport force us to make urgent structural changes to adapt the profile, training, skills and responsibilities of our drivers.
The funds allocated by the EU for economic recovery from the impact of COVID 19, together with regulatory changes such as the one that Spain has adopted, should present an opportunity to develop precise human resource development plans for sustainable recovery and the modernisation of commercial road transport.
Francisco Iglesias Campos, CEO of ALSA:
Public knowledge about the drivers’ profession is lacking, so we cannot be sure that closing the gap between school and the wheel would lead to an immediate increased interest in the profession.
We need to ensure alignment between the government institutions involved and the road transport industry. A lower minimum age makes it easier to link training to the available job opportunities, but the whole system needs to be improved.
A regulatory framework linking training to the profession would open the door to young people who may not have previously considered it as an option. We are dedicated to facilitating access for all, including women.
ONE BY ONE TESTING APPROACH VS ALL AT ONCE
What Causes Cancer? – A genomic perspective
- As the cells divide during the lifetime of an individual, certain changes or mutations occur in the DNA
- These changes or mutations keep on accumulating in the cell and may cross the threshold limit.
- Once this threshold limit is crossed, the cell division may go haywire and result in cancer
How to treat the cancer?
- One of the approach to treat cancer is to identify the change or the mutation in the DNA which caused the cancer and then to provide an antidote for it.
- By comparing the healthy individuals with the patients, scientists have identified ~ 400 genes which go kaput in cancer. (100 oncogenes, 30 Tumour Specific Genes, several genome repair genes, chromatin remodelling genes).
- Out these 400, Significantly Mutated Genes (SMG) are 50 such genes which harbour most cancer gene alterations. These are High Confidence Drivers (HCD). It is Likely that one or more of these is altered in any cancer type
- Knowing what mutation or alteration caused the cancer can help in targeted therapy, thus reducing overall costs and improving the outcome of the therapy.
Options for Diagnosis
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- List out driver mutations in a tumor type from an organ. Check for each molecular alterations one by one or the currently drug targeted ones simultaneously but in a separate experiment for each- Single gene assays.
- Check out for all drivers in an organ specific cancer simultaneously by Multiplexed PCR followed by Sanger’s sequencing or multiplexed RT- PCR or Snapshot assays.
- Look for all the SMG (HCD) together using NGS.
Why Next Gen Sequencing
There are various methods to “know” these driver mutations – Sanger sequencing, Real Time PCR, Next Generation Sequencing etc.
Technique
- Sanger Sequencing – requires at least 10-20% tumor cells to be present, otherwise the mutation is “lost” in the background DNA which comes from normal tissue. Can detect neighboring mutations. Each mutation site is analyzed only once
- Real time PCR – the sensitivity is better than Sanger sequencing, but each assay is highly targeted and can detect only one mutation in most cases. Does not detect neighboring mutations
- Next gen sequencing – Highly sensitive assay, can detect mutations in samples having 5% tumor cells. Can be multiplexed, so many genes can be targeted at the same time, thus detecting many mutations in the same assay. Each DNA nucleotide is read many times (100-1000 times) which adds to the specificity of the assay
Sample
The tumor tissue which is extracted out needs to undergo multiple diagnostic assays – histopathology, IHC, molecular and cytogenetic tests. Thus the sample is a very precious sample. If subjected to multiple tests one by one the tissue becomes a limiting factor. It is thus advisable to go for all the molecular tests in one go rather than sequentially.
The percentage of tumor cells is often low. Thus a sensitive technique is required to detect these mutations in a background of wild type cellular DNA. NGS uses massively parallel sequencing wherein high degree of accuracy is achieved by sequencing the same base again and again.
The answer – why go sequentially ( for e.g. for lung cancer status of EGFR/KRAS/NRAS/ALK/PTEN etc need to be known) when you can have the answer in less time and approx. the same cost if you do a 50 Gene Cancer Panel.
Genes covered