SPECIAL REPORT Left: Nick Leggett’s opening address emphasised that the programme is very much about industry taking the lead in finding solutions to the challenges it faces.
ROAD TO SUCCESS THERE FOR THE TAKING By Dave McCoid
Background Like most western economies, for the past two decades or more, New Zealand has had a shortage of class-5 heavy truck drivers. With the freight-task forecast to double between 2017 and 2050 and the average age of truck drivers currently sitting around the mid-50s, the magnitude of the issue confronting the road transport industry, and the economy, is fast becoming biblical. Trucking is a highly competitive, low-margin industry and there are many reasons for its lack of appeal in wider society, with the main contributors being long hours and absence from home, remuneration, and a lack of formal qualification. The solution to any or all of these problems won’t come with a silver bullet; this is now a chronic, generational issue. “The work that the Road Transport Forum (RTF) and others have done reveals that
102 New Zealand Trucking
we’re going to have to do some work and get innovative if we want a workforce that looks and feels more like the New Zealanders we serve,” said Michael Wood, the Minister for Transport, Workplace Relations, and Safety.
Te ara ki tua Road to success Thursday 27 April 2021 has the potential for being a landmark day for the New Zealand Road Transport industry. The RTF officially launched its industry trainee programme, Te ara ki tua Road to success, at the home of Auckland transport operator Carr & Haslam. In attendance were cabinet ministers for social development and employment, and transport, workplace relations and safety, the chair and senior RTF personnel, representation from the three industry associations, a modest June 2021
number of road transport operators, three programme trainees, and media. In terms of optimising transport industry operator presence, Thursday wouldn’t be your first choice of days for such an event, but if you want two cabinet ministers in the same place at the same time, that’s what it had to be. However, in terms of what is needed for the industry to help address some its most pressing issues, the timing of Te ara ki tua Road to success could not be better. “Trucking has an ageing workforce, and we want to bring a new and diverse range of people into the road-freight industry. We want trainees to be clear on a career path and be rewarded for their success,” said Road Transport Forum (RTF) CEO Nick Leggett.
How does it work? Training is a mix of practical and theoretical components
designed to lead directly to qualifications relevant to the industry. Qualifications are in the form of NZQA-endorsed micro-credentials, completed online and delivered through MITO, which has made the micro-credentials fee free until the end of 2021. Potential trainees register with Te ara ki tua Road to success, either directly or via referral from another initiative, e.g. Kiwi Can Do, or the Ministry of Social Development. Their application is screened and considered by Te ara ki tua Road to success staff employed by the RTF, and if all goes well, they are matched to a suitable registered transport business and given full-time paid employment as a trainee. Then starts a 12-month engagement between the Te ara ki tua Road to success team, the trainee, and the employer as the trainee progresses through microcredentials, licence levels and working life. At the end of the year, there’s a graduation and the trainee either secures an ongoing full-time position with their employer or alternate employment is sourced. Depending on the trainee’s pathway into the programme, there may be government assistance for the employer if the employee is a registered job seeker with the Ministry of Social Development. Present at the launch were three trainees: Betty Heremia Sola, Liana Manarangi and Shaun Tomai. All three were from the Kiwi Can Do programme and are currently employed by Carr & Haslam. “Betty, Liana and Shaun arrived well prepared to do the job,” said Carr & Haslam managing director Chris Carr.
