This story first appeared in the April issue of AutoTalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE
We have again seen increases in class 5 licences issued with a 15% increase last year than in 2017 – this is now two years of successive growth.
Our simple pipeline strategy of pushing a larger pool of class 2 drivers from the industry and getting these to class 4 and 5 is paying off.
Some are concerned the overall numbers have dropped, but don’t be alarmed, our new licences issued are growing compared to the historical holders of licences that are either retiring, or no longer renewing their licences.
In all classes of heavy vehicle licensing, we are seeing strong gains and this bodes well for the industry and is the sum of all our industry initiatives.
Often through our Sector Workforce Engagement Programme (SWEP) journey we have taken a couple of steps forward with the landscape changing momentarily and having to retrace.
This has occurred with the car licensing in schools project which is being investigated by Ministry of Education but a change in policy has meant this is on hold for a bit longer; initiatives such as the National Driver Training Centre in Feilding announced last year will have a positive impact in car licences and school students.
Accelerated licensing and licensing review
Another change was the accelerated licensing process (ALP), as having taken some time to put this back together with the right approvals, proof testing and then beginning to market.
Now we see recent notice of policy change.The licensing review has been dusted off and is open for feedback with a proposal to remove the ALP, and while the proposal to change the over 25 age group licensing regime will likely remove the need for an accelerated pathway, sadly for the under 25s it may be a case of legislative mistakes made twice.
This is something we intend to discuss with NZTA as our shortfall age group is the under 25s and this is where a robust accelerated pathway would allow earlier entry in our industry.
Immigration and proposed changes
There has also been commentary about the proposed immigration changes to what is known as employer supported visas.
These are the six categories of visa being considered for replacement by one visa class:
- Essential skills and shortage list
- Approved in principle
- Work to residence long-term skills shortage list
- Talent (accredited employers)
- X2 Silver Fern visa class (specific to another industry)
We recently brought an industry panel together to talk directly to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment policy team, as some operators have leveraged migrant labour through the essential and talent visa classes.
Their experiences were relayed to MBIE with some discussion on the practicalities of hiring migrant labour.
If this proposal goes through as envisaged it is highly likely that road freight transport will be one of a few select industries to discuss the merits of a sector agreement, which is viewed as a positive step to providing a migrant labour pathway while supporting domestic recruitment.
Tertiary changes proposal
Part of the lessons learnt so far is how we develop and support our tertiary programmes, while the whole sector is under review including Industry Training Organisations.
Historically, our industry has not had a strong pathway that utilises tertiary training.
Having been involved in the development of our industry qualifications with our ITO and the seven tertiary institutes that offer commercial road transport training, what has always struck me is the level of separation between the two sides of what is the same coin.
We are trying to build a pathway from school into employment, and very soon will be releasing the gateway programme developed with MITO, and then a programme designed to target year 12 and 13 school students.
This has taken more than 18 months to accomplish but will provide that pathway into a transport career and highlight the industry as a career option within schools.
It is this visibility of a career that has been lacking for transport.
The perspective that I have gained through the last two years of working with all the training providers is the perception of competition between them.
The cost to develop a programme is with the resources used to deliver the training, with the ITO and each tertiary training provider doing this independently, and while the qualification should be the same, the delivery can be different.
The levels of financial support differ between the ITO and the tertiary providers and this has been highlighted with the qualifying entry point to obtain fees free training.
If I were to express a preference if would be that industry has a say on what the level and content of qualifications are with one national body, and that training towards that qualification can be attained anywhere in the country, regardless of location.
The funding for training should be available regardless of age as we need to attract school leavers and those in employment looking for a career change.
We know that the more recent generations will be subject to change likely requiring them to change careers more often than my own generation, so our ability to train must be easier to access regardless of age and financial position.
How many operators don’t train because of the fear that any investment will be wasted if those trainees leave to join another company?
We can remove this issue by making all training free and to remove that argument, other countries levy their industries and ring fence those taxes to be spent only on that industry’s training needs, the effect is that those companies that train access funding, and those that don’t train just pay the fee, overall the industry does not lose out.
*Email steve.divers@truckingcareers.nz if you are interested in hearing more on this programme.
