Teachers – support your students to start their career

Young people are in demand in the road transport and logistics industries. These industries currently employ four per cent of New Zealand’s workforce.

The jobs are interesting, well paid and challenging - and they have a future. Your students can gain qualifications in the transport industry that will set them up for life.

Guide your students towards a transport or logistics career
Start their transport or logistics career now
Classroom resources available
For more information

Guide your students towards a transport or logistics career

Some students may have lost interest in school or have decided not to pursue tertiary education and would rather be working. Perhaps they have a strong practical bent, don’t mind spending large parts of the day in their own company, and would like to be driving machinery such as trucks or forklifts.

Maybe they like being part of a team and would enjoy warehousing and freight forwarding jobs, or working at a port, sending exports and imports throughout New Zealand and the world. They may aspire to be a Road Transport Manager, a VIP Chauffeur, a Truck Driving Instructor, a Charter Operations Manager, an International Logistics Manager or Cargo Operations Manager.

Start their transport or logistics career now

If your students are interested in joining the road transport or logistics industry there are several things they could do while still at school:

  • They can make a start by getting a full driver licence. A licence is usually a prerequisite to getting a job in these industries.
  • Gain a satisfactory level of language, literacy and numeracy. Support in these areas is available in many workplace training programmes.
  • For freight forwarding and logistics jobs, some basic computer skills such as emailing and experience with word and excel documents would be beneficial, as would good telephone skills.
  • Your students could take part in a Gateway Programme and gain some work experience. They may even get a potential start with an employer; all while they continue to study at school.
  • They could do NCEA unit standards on core driving, which cover things like the theory of defensive driving. Tranzqual provides study and assessment material for these unit standards.
  • A great feature of working in the wider transport industry is the Modern Apprenticeship Programme, for students who have found employment. Apprentices can earn while they learn with no student loan to worry about.
  • Truck Driver Cadetships are a good way for school leavers to study for a national qualification and receive excellent support and tuition as well.

See our core driving material**

**Please note: secondary schools without accreditation must have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tranzqual in order to report credits. The MoU requires a named Tranzqual registered assessor to carry out formal assessments. If you have questions regarding MoUs or accreditation to assess against the unit standards please contact Nathan Martin, Quality Assurance Advisor, ph: 04 894 2024, email: nathan.martin@tranzqual.org.nz.

Classroom resources available

There are a range of resources you can provide for your students, which we encourage you to use:

  • Career packs with helpful suggestions on starting a road transport or logistics career
  • 'Just The Job' videos on freight forwarding, logistics and truck driving
  • Get Moving career pathway - poster
  • A corporate role in international trade - poster
  • How a warehouse works - poster
  • Where truck driving can take you – poster
  • road transport and logistics career information is available from the Inzone Careers Bus, Inzone Kiosks and local Careers Expos
  • a Tranzqual representative could visit your school’s career night.

For more information

For more information about how your students could get started in the road transport or logistics industry and to order resources, use the links on the left or contact us on 0800 4QUALS (0800 478257).

These links for students may also be of interest to you: