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BusinessLive writes that for numerous reasons such retirements and a general lack of interest, the commercial driving sector in SA is short of about 15,000 drivers.
Nicci Scott, who runs Commercial Truck Association (CTA), says these vacancies are an opportune moment to fill up with female drivers who need employment. With driving today a gender-neutral task, her efforts don’t only address gender parity in the sector with her crop of highly determined, well-trained female drivers, but she is creating employment opportunities for SA women in economic plight. Scott started with 10 women through a learnership funded by Isuzu Trucks in 2018, in terms of which women drivers were trained in a standard 12-month learnership to become a professional drivers. CTA also searches for, grooms and finds permanent employment for the female drivers. A tie up with Volvo Commercial, which also has a desire to develop female truck drivers, has seen the successful training of 50 women in 2019 through the Volvo Iron Women programme and another 10 women funded by Coca-Cola becoming owner-drivers. A second group of women has begun its practical work experience phase and they will be available for employment from January 2020. Safety on the road is a major concern for women drivers. Scott explains: “The few dedicated truck stops don’t have facilities that serve the convenience of women. The industry standards dictate that drivers of small to medium trucks must not sleep inside the vehicles, [so] we do set up our female drivers in motels for overnight stops, but this doesn’t mean there’s female bathroom facilities at many of these stops. We are hopeful that these issues will get addressed as we deploy more women.”
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Phuti Mpyane at BusinessLive
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