TRUCK DRIVER | MACKENZIE LINTERN

GET MOVING IN YOUR MOBILE WORKSPACE

writer SARA CARBERY // photo LOGAN WEST

If you enjoy freedom, travel, banter, learning and meeting great people, truck driving might be the career for you. And thanks to the Te ara ki tua Road to Success traineeship programme, which is run through la Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand, becoming a truck driver has never been easier! Nineteen-year-old Mackenzie Lintern completed the 12-month traineeship programme and is now driving for Mackleys Transport and Logistics delivering steel for Fletcher Easy Steel. “I enjoy having my workspace move with me,” Mackenzie says, “and being able to see parts of the country I probably never would have, along with interacting with a huge range of people.” After being accepted into the programme, trainees are matched with a suitable employer and earn a minimum of $21.50 per hour while gaining nationally recognised qualifications and progressing their licence class. Mackenzie is working towards getting her Class 5 licence in the next few months while continuing to learn as much as possible from others in the industry. Her advice is, “Don’t be intimidated. Everyone starts somewhere and most drivers are willing to give you a hand whenever; you just have to put in the effort to learn.” From the moment she got her learner licence, Mackenzie has loved driving and sat all her driving tests as soon as she could. When she left school, halfway through Year 12, she started driving Class 1 trucks delivering groceries for the local supermarket where she worked part-time as a student. “From there, I started getting my licences by doing courses and applying for jobs that encouraged me to progress.” This included a three-week course through Kiwi Can Do to get her Class 2 full licence and applying for Road to Success. Over the course of a year, she completed practical learning modules while studying, and graduated with certificates in road transport. In Year 12 at Bethlehem College in Tauranga, Mackenzie studied Biology, Chemistry, English, Maths and Photography. “Mechanics would have been useful,” she says, “but definitely not necessary.” The main challenges of truck driving for her are physical, “like being able to throw the chains over high loads or, when working on tall trucks, being able to reach far enough to place the load restraints”. As well as driving, a big aspect of the job is planning and loading your truck. “Crane operators load most of the truck but some items I load by forklift,” she says. To qualify for the Te ara ki tua Road to Success programme, you need to be over 18 and able to pass a drug test. It’s also preferred that entrants have a full, clean licence.

i ENJOY HAVING MY WORKSPACE MOVE WITH ME AND BEING ABLE TO SEE PARTS OF THE COUNTRY I PROBABLY NEVER WOULD HAVE.

MACKENZIE LINTERN

KEY FACTS

■ MACKENZIE LINTERN COMPLETED THE 12-MONTH TE ARA KI TUA ROAD TO

SUCCESS TRAINEESHIP PROGRAMME. ■ SHE WAS MATCHED WITH AN EMPLOYER AND BEGAN EARNING. SHE

COMPLETED PRACTICAL LEARNING MODULES WHILE STUDYING, AND

GRADUATED WITH CERTIFICATES IN ROAD TRANSPORT. ■ MACKENZIE WORKS AS A TRUCK DRIVER FOR MACKLEYS TRANSPORT AND

LOGISTICS DELIVERING STEEL FOR FLETCHER EASY STEEL. For more information on the

Te ara ki tua Road to Success

traineeship programme, visit www.roadtosuccess.nz