Driving the economy
At the launch of Te ara ki tua Road to success last April, key participants take a moment to mark the milestone. From left to right are: Traineeship early adopter Chris Carr, Transport Minister Michael Wood, trainee Betty Heremaia Sola, Minister of Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni, trainees Shaun Tomai and Liana Manu, Transporting NZ chief executive Nick Leggett and then chair of Transporting NZ, Greg Pert
Road to success a highlight of 2021 T
by Nick Leggett Chief Executive Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand
HE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY PERIOD IS always a great chance to reflect on the year that’s been: Its highs, lows, successes and challenges. The COVID-19 Delta rollercoaster ride was, for many individuals, families and businesses, an extremely tough time and has placed significant strain on our economy, our mental wellness and our communities. Vaccine mandates and various restrictions now divide the country and we have seen some pretty ugly protests as such measures have been implemented. For Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand, 2021 also presented a year of significant change. Not only did we change our name and our brand to better reflect the modern face of the industry and the diversity that is starting to come through in road transport, but we went through a restructure after Auckland-based National Road Carriers and Christchurch-based NZ Trucking Association decided to walk away from the national organisation. We are confident that RTANZ members and the broader industry will begin to see the benefits of the single organisation approach, with a much more responsive and flexible approach to our advocacy work.
A real highlight of 2021 for me was the launch of Te ara ki tua Road to success. From little more than a concept it has become an active and functioning traineeship that has already brought over 30 new people into our industry. I am really proud of the way Road to success has developed and the operators and trainees who have helped keep it going during what was a very tumultuous year. We have learnt many lessons during Road to success’ first year. One is that road transport, despite its sometimes rough and ready reputation, is indeed a viable career pathway for young people. Another is that Road to success requires the ongoing support and commitment from the industry to ensure that opportunities remain available to new people. Without that, not only would the programme fail, but we would be no closer to alleviating our driver shortage. By working with those responsible for driver training in our sector, we have now developed a much better understanding of how to best assist operators to make Road to success part of their recruitment and human resources planning. The first phase of this has been to run a workshop with a group Truck & Driver | 41
