Comment: Why is it so hard to enter the trucking industry?
The trucking industry needs to look for opportunities to inspire the next generation by providing opportunities to experience life in the industry, says David Boyce
New Zealand businesses are facing a critical skilled labour shortage. Latest information from Statistics NZ reports that in the September 2021 quarter, the New Zealand unemployment rate had dropped to a record equalling low of 3.4%.
This equates to a total of 98,000 unemployed people across New Zealand. Putting that in perspective, the early December job vacancies advertised on TradeMe Jobs was 24,380 positions and SEEK job vacancies was 28,235 positions.
There are several realities that are not reported in these numbers. Not all job vacancies are advertised (or advertised through these channels) and not all the 98,000 people unemployed have the skills necessary to fulfil the current job vacancies.
It’s very much a skills imbalance between numbers unemployed and job vacancies available. This is having a significant effect on the trucking industry, with 2064 job vacancies on TradeMe Jobs and 2226 job vacancies advertised on SEEK.
This is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak, as many businesses are not advertising their vacancies, as they know that they cannot fill their positions, with many fleets having significant numbers of trucks just parked up due to a lack of truck drivers.
Recent news media coverage of rubbish collection in Wellington being delayed by several days due to a shortage of truck drivers is a warning sign of things to come that cannot be ignored.
The reality is that 93% of New Zealand’s domestic freight is moved by trucks; if the industry does not have enough truck drivers to move the freight, delays will become inevitable.
Apart from the obvious competition between industries for an ever-diminishing workforce are several factors that are compounding the situation. One is the trucking industry’s ageing workforce, with an average age of 54 years, and more concerning is that more than 20% of the workforce is aged over 65 years.
Another is getting young people into the trucking industry is a challenge where many are facing barriers while progressing towards their full car licence, and then facing a heavy truck driver licencing system that discourages new entrants into the trucking industry with its cost and the extended time it takes to obtain the required licence classes.
We live in a global employment market, where skilled workers travel around the world for employment opportunities and new experiences. In a normal year, thousands of New Zealanders take the opportunity to travel overseas to work in other countries.
So as a country why do we make it so hard for the skilled overseas workers that our industry needs to come and work in our country? The trucking industry is a highly skilled industry that competes in the global employment market.
The introduction of High Productivity Motor Vehicles (HPMV) has been a fantastic success that has certainly helped the trucking industry productivity and reduced the number of truck drivers required to move the country’s freight.
But those freight volumes are continuing to grow at a fast pace, with an expected doubling of freight volumes over the next 30 years. This will put significant pressure on the trucking industry’s already stretched labour resources. It’s time to get ahead of the growing demand with another step-change that further expands the HPMV network.
An example would be the HPMV 23-metre 10 axle B-Train, which can operate at up to 60,000kg gross weight (H15) and could easily be extended to 25 metres in length and 65,000kg gross weight, giving an immediate productivity gain of 5000kg for general freight or set up with equal length trailers for container transport would enable four 20’ containers to be transported at a time.
As an industry, we need to stop hiding behind health and safety legislation and look for opportunities to inspire the next generation by providing opportunities to experience life in our industry. This can be everything from a ride in truck to running community open days to your business.
As an individual business within the trucking industry, you may not be able to change the whole industry’s image, but what you do as an individual business can certainly help the collective image of the industry. Your business image is your brand; this drives the perception of any potential employees.
Engaging with your local schools and community is good for your business. It improves your business reputation and brand recognition, improves your relationship with the wider community and, importantly, increases your potential employee base as you’re perceived as a good employer.
The New Zealand Trucking Association is out in the community inspiring the next generation with the Safety Man Road Safety Truck, which travels around New Zealand to schools and community events, delivering the ‘Share the Road with Big Trucks’ programme and running Careers Inspiration programmes.
Since its launch in 2017, more than 41,000 people have been through the programmes and had a chance to sit in the cab of the truck. This has only been possible thanks to the generous support of our industry sponsors.
If you would like to support this great initiative, please contact Carol McGeady at carol.mcgeady@trucking.nz or 0800 338 338. The New Zealand Trucking Association is organising the 2022 TMC Trailers Trucking Industry show on 25 and 26 November 2022 at the Canterbury Agricultural Park in Christchurch. This is New Zealand’s largest trucking industry event.
On 25 November, we’re hosting the Careers Trucking event at the show. The invitation to the event has gone to all South Island secondary schools, with schools already having registered from as far away as Nelson and Invercargill. Volunteers will host participants to look at all the fantastic opportunities available within the industry at the participating exhibiting businesses.
If you would like to participate in this biannual event, please contact the show organiser Rebecca Dinmore at rebecca.dinmore@trucking.nz or 0800 338 338.
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