Road Transport
Truck drivers keep our economy moving. New Zealand needs trained, experienced drivers to keep the commercial road freight industry going. Without skilled professionals behind the wheels, the sale and transfer of goods would grind to a halt.
This industry sector covers general freight delivery (both local and long haul) and specialist operations such as the transport of bulk liquid and gases, logs, livestock, perishable products, waste and recoverable resources (solid and liquid), over-weight and over-dimension loads, ground-spreading, military road transport operations, vehicle recovery and towing. It includes light motor vehicles and heavy trucks (4500kg).
With advances in technology, computerisation, etc, truck driving is by no means an unskilled job. Truckies today are highly skilled and able to specialise in a number of career pathways. The industry needs people with good computer and communication skills as they deal with increasingly demanding customers.
- Over 80% of all freight in New Zealand is transported by road
- There are about 5000 individual road transport firms, most of which are locally based, family-owned businesses with less than five trucks
- About 80% of the 82,000 trucks weighing 4 tonnes or more are owned and operated by people not primarily involved in road transport
- Demand for road transport is growing rapidly with a trend towards the fast delivery of products, 24 hours a day, seven days a week
- Global shortage of skilled workers in most areas of the road transport industry will become an increasing problem as more people working in the industry approach retirement age
- Increase of annual leave entitlements from three to four weeks a year will reduce the pool of available workers even further, because road transport companies will need to hire additional workers to cover the periods when their employees are away on holiday.