Trevor Read/STUFF
FBT freight company bosses Malcolm Campbell and John Geraghty.
Little pay, long hours, and limited experience are reasons industry experts watch truck driver positions sit around unfilled.
And it looks to be cyclical problem with no single solution.
John Geraghty, co-founder of New Plymouth-based freight company FBT, said the “now hiring” signs which have popped up at Taranaki trucking companies are a common sight around the country.
MARTIN DE RUYTER/STUFF
Class 5 truck drivers are in high demand in Taranaki, but those in the industry say it’s a struggle to fill the positions.
As the spokesman for J.D. Hickman, Hopkins, Peter Sole Transport, G. J. Sole, and Jackson Transport, Geraghty knows full well the scale of the problem.
“Those in the industry are getting old,” he said.
“But it’s a problem that starts at school because it doesn’t get presented as a career.”
DOUG FIELD/STUFF
A shortage of truck drivers is a nation-wide issue, industry leaders say. Pictured: Temuka driver Johnny Baxter.
Life on the road hauling logs, milk or vegetables was a rewarding profession, Geraghty said.
“They take off and they’re totally in charge of themselves for the day. It’s their office.”
But selling the idea of driving heavy vehicles, no matter the comfort or technology, could be tough with drawbacks such as long work weeks.
“While some drivers will work a 40 hours a week, others will work 50, 60, sometimes 70 hours per week,” Geraghty said.
“There’s quite a lot of operations that operate 24-hours, so those overnight shifts could also be a detractor.”
Port Taranaki and Fonterra operate 24 hours a day in order to maintain their business relations, he explained, which then requires them to use a trucking company that could provide drivers at any time of day.
If a trucking company couldn’t provide drivers for those hours, they would miss out.
“So it’s damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
And earnings were bog-standard.
Heavy truck drivers could make between $16 an hour to $25 an hour, Careers New Zealand said.
“I do think we can do better,” Geraghty said.
“But it starts with what we can afford.”
It’s a costly industry to enter, too.
Class 5 drivers are highest demand, which is a level of experience that takes years to reach.
Of the 16 jobs in Taranaki for truck drivers listed on TradeMe – some of which included multiple openings – nine were for Class 5 drivers and seven were for Class 4 drivers.
While Class 1, 2 and 3 can operate trucks and trailers, the heaviest of the vehicle tops out at 25,000 kilograms – or a truck less than 5.4 metres in length.
And though a Class 4 can operate a vehicle more than 18,000kg, the licence doesn’t allow the operation of trucks covered by a Class 3 licence.
Wayne Mehrtens, New Plymouth manager of TIL Freight, said it can take quite a while to get through all the steps.
“We are all struggling to get Class 5 drivers,” he said.
But holding a licence does not guarantee work.
Spencer Shaw, Taranaki area manager of One Staff recruitment agency, said there is pool of licensed drivers but it’s time spent behind the wheel that companies are looking for.
“We can pay to get these licences but at the end of the day, it’s hard to get a job without the experience.”
She said companies were wary of placing an inexperienced driver in the seat of a $170,000 truck and then sending them off to drive New Zealand roads.
And even if companies offered apprenticeships, the training was confined to the training grounds, he said.
“It’s a bit of a catch-22.”
Apprenticeships have in the past assisted TIL Freight in filling vacancies, Mehrtens said, but it’s an expense paid out of pocket.
“What we need is to have our industry recognised as a skill rather than a ‘oh I can’t get a job, I’ll just be a truck driver’,” he said.
And there’s more to the trade than driving trucks, such as working as a storeman or a dispatcher, Mehrtens said.
“We just want to encourage more people into the industry because we all love it.”
– Stuff