NZ truck driver shortage threatening growth in South Canterbury

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The Timaru Herald  /  August 23, 2016

The truck driver licensing process is a major stumbling block preventing school-leavers entering the transport industry, South Canterbury transport company managers say.

The claim follows the release of a regional labour market survey that found "licensing constraints, compliance and health and safety issues were restricting for businesses employing directly from schools and tertiary institutions".

According to the survey, the region's transport industry and the industries that depended on it were threatened by a lack of trained younger drivers adequately licensed to drive heavy vehicles.

The growth problem was compounded by an ageing population of existing qualified drivers.

With projected economic growth for South Canterbury, increased traffic from PrimePort and dairy factories, and businesses expanding in the Washdyke industrial park, South Canterbury was identified as having one of the biggest demands for transport nationwide.

Yet the average age for class five licensed drivers in companies surveyed was 57.

All transport businesses interviewed for the survey had staff over the age of 65. One had 11 over this age, another had six.

Rural Transport Ltd manager Crouchley hoped to attract younger drivers when advertising a position for a flat-bed truck driver. The ad said the role "would suit a young person entering the industry".

However, only two of the 10 who applied were under 20 - the rest were between 30 and 50, with most being in their 40s, he said.

Rural Transport Ltd had two smaller vehicles which it used to help younger drivers who were not yet able to apply for higher class licenses due to mandatory six-month waiting times between each achieved licence classification, Crouchley said.

The company had taken on two younger people; one had decided the industry was not right for him, while the other was "right into it" - but he was "a rare find", Crouchley said.

Younger people could not be blamed for being reluctant to join the transport industry with the "licensing regime" being what it was, he said.

"When I was 18 years of age I could have got my truck and trailer license and be driving a full rig, and kids can't do that now," he said.

There had also been a potential change of attitude within schools among both school pupils and the adults advising them about careers, Crouchley said.

Information technology was now being promoted more, other career paths were paying more for less hours of work, and there was now a probable stigma around how the trucking industry was perceived, Crouchley said.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) was asked if it understood the extent of the perceived skills problem and what was being done to address it.

A spokeswoman said NZTA had developed ways to ensure truck drivers did not have to wait too long to obtain their full class five licences, including "pro-active pathways", "employer sponsorship" and accelerated courses.

She referred Fairfax to Road Transport Association president Peter McAuley, of ProDriver Timaru, who said the process could not realistically be made any faster.

"If people don't spend time gaining experience we're going to end up with disaster," McAuley said.

He noted transport vehicles now carried much heavier loads and that transport companies had tighter profit margins and could not always afford to take on apprentices.

Hobbs Banks and Mayfield Transport owner-operator Peter Hobbs said the main problem was the two year gap between leaving school and being able to become licensed, even though training was available at Ara Polytechnic and ProDriver Training school.

Another contributing problem was that trucks on the road were getting bigger and carrying heavier loads, so the higher class licences were more often required.

Any school-aged pupil interested in a career in trucks soon lost interest when the delays and restrictions created by the licensing process became apparent, Hobbs said.

Hobbs also believed it should not be left to transport companies alone to take on all the work and expense of fostering trainee drivers, and that the government should provide some sort of incentives.

Already there were noticeably more positions to fill within the transport industry, but there were not enough skilled drivers to fill them, he said.

"Somehow when years ago we all wanted to be truck drivers - kids love trucks but nowadays they lose interest," he said.