FROM THE OFFICE OF
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John Martin RHA Policy Manager for Northern Ireland.
WOMEN IN LOGISTICS SUREFREIGHT TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF HGV TECHNICIANS John Martin, the RHA’s Policy Manager for Northern Ireland, recently called with RHA members Surefreight Ltd based in Newry to discuss with Martin McGoldrick, Surefreight’s Commercial Director how they were ensuring the next generation of HGV technicians were being trained to provide an “in-house” capacity to maintain their increasing fleet of vehicles. She faced the same challenges when working in the workshop and dealing with some drivers as the only female mechanic in the workshop. She has met these challenges head on and is now accepted by all of her peers and indeed in the workplace when a difficult job is to be completed, they all look for Kevina to assist them.
Martin introduced me to their apprentice, Kevina Burns, who at 18 years of age is already proving to be something of a “high performer” in maintaining Surefreight’s fleet. Kevina is attending the Southern Regional College in Newry, studying heavy vehicle repair since 2020 and has completed her NVQ level 2 with flying colours and is now commencing studies in level 3.
GREAT EXAMPLE
Commented Martin: “We have had many apprentices throughout the years, but we are now blessed with someone who truly stands out from the crowd”. Martin went on to explain that Kevina can be relied upon to undertake most duties in workshop including safety inspections, annual roadworthiness preparations and pre-test assessments and has a 100% pass rate on the vehicles that she assesses and prepares. This is fantastic given the Northern Ireland average is in the region of 79%. She also undertakes complete brake overhauls, diagnosing and rectifying wiring faults along with wiring and fitting accessories such as spot lamps, invertors, CB radio and Telematics. She is also competent in the use of vehicle diagnostics software. Kevina explained that she has always had an interest in heavy goods vehicles as her father is an owner driver. But given she left school at 16 she couldn’t wait around until she could sit her HGV class C test and wanted to get into the sector immediately. She recognised that if you’re a small family run haulage business with such tight margins there is an expectation maintenance will be undertaken in house where possible to reduce costs therefore assist the family business, therefore, she didn’t hesitate to learn the trade from a maintenance perspective.
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Kevina is a fantastic example that all careers in haulage are open to and can be undertaken by females and she would like more young girls to join all positions within the sector.
MANY CHALLENGES Kevina also appreciates that as a girl working in a male dominated environment, she will have to work harder than others to prove herself in this field – however that is seen as a great challenge as opposed to obstacle. Despite receiving some negative comments from people from a young age that she couldn’t break into the industry, she couldn’t take over her father’s company one day and she certainly couldn’t be an HGV mechanic, Kevina has set out not only to prove people wrong but also set an example that if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything. Kevina went on the explain that on her first day in the Southern Regional College when she went for induction there were 11 other aspiring HGV mechanics, however, it was maybe slightly disappointing but not surprising to discover that she was the only female in the class. Did this put Kevina off or change her mind? Certainly not, however she did accept that from the outset she would have to work harder than the 10 boys to be accepted so not only did she have to pass the same tests she had to win their approval to become part of the team.
Martin explained: “When we look out onto the floor we don’t see Kevina the girl in a male dominated environment, we don’t see Kevina the apprentice in an environment where fully qualified people rule, we see Kevina, an excellent prospect for the future, a more than capable HGV mechanic and above all someone who has overcome adversity and chose a path she was told by society not to walk, she didn’t walk it, she is sprinting and setting a high bar for all to follow.” Yes, it was great to meet someone like Kevina, who at 18 years of age is setting a high bar within a male dominated environment and despite all the perceptions and negatively surrounding her choice of career she is proving all the doubters wrong. The RHA has been at the forefront of promoting logistics as a career for all with fantastic opportunities for those who are prepared to work. Kevina is a shining example of someone who is prepared to follow her own career path and challenge the norm – given my background as an HGV technician I appreciate its not an easy job but I take my hat off to Kevina and wish her well in her future career and will be checking up on her progress each time I call with Surefreight.
