Reitu Archibald

Truck Driver, Kukutai Transport, Avondale, Auckland

Qualification: Modern Apprenticeship in Commercial Road Transport.

Job basics: Transporting oversize loads all over Auckland and the North Island

Reitu Archibald wasn't interested in sitting at a desk or going to university when he left school.

The Waitemata rugby player wanted a challenge, to be outside and to have a bit of freedom.

"I was doing well at school but that wasn't what I was interested in, I got sick of it, I wanted to leave school and start working," he says.

Reitu got his break when he started his H/T licence.

With the help of his licence trainer he was offered an apprenticeship with an Avondale-based trucking company.

"I started driving three tonne trucks, doing some dispatching and going out on jobs with the other drivers. I worked as a pilot driving pilot vehicles as well."

Four years down the track the 20-year-old still works for the same company, Kukutai Transport, which specialises in moving over sized loads. He now drives a truck with a huge hiab lifter attached to do the job.

"What I like about it is you never know where you are going to next and you are out and about - every job is different."

Along the way Reitu worked hard and completed his apprenticeship. He holds Licence Class 1-5 and also completed an endorsement allowing him to operate the hiab.

"It's different challenges all the time with the hiab. It's got a 30 metre reach - that's a challenge in itself."

"The good thing about my job is that I can get out of the seat - it is physical as well. You have to operate the hiab and you also have to lift stuff and work on your loads. Some drivers just drive but not me."

Mostly he delivers supplies like roofing steel to construction sites all over Auckland but he has been further afield to Tauranga, Hamilton, and Whangarei.

He says the licensing process wasn't that difficult with the courses run in blocks.

"You would work for six months and then when your licence was coming up you would get a week off work and then go through the theory and then at the end of the week you would have to pass your practical - I didn't find it too hard."

Working for a smaller company has broadened his experience and he says the older drivers and Kukutai Transport owner Denny Archibald were supportive and helped him out with good advice.

New Zealand truck drivers are well regarded internationally and he says there are lots of opportunities out there.

"I'm pretty happy the way things have gone - I'm set now."

"There's no reason to go on the dole."