- Driver training is the single biggest intervention to reduce South Africa’s high road accident rate.
It takes more than a good driver to drive a truck. Knowledge, driving skills and practical experience are all crucial for a good trucker.
The lack of these skills, and the fact that there is a shortage of at least 3 000 skilled Code 14 truck drivers in the country, are part of the reason why 16 000 people die on South African roads every year.
“Drivers are in such high demand that employers simply do not have the capacity to allow them time off to enhance their skills and improve their abilities. They are required to be behind the wheel every available moment,” says Arnoux Maré, founder and CEO of Innovative Learning Solutions.
The importance of skilled drivers
Conservative estimates value South Africa’s logistics sector at around R480 billion, with road freight by far the biggest industry within the sector. At any given time, there are thousands of trucks of every shape and size on South Africa’s roads, transporting a full spectrum of essential goods required to keep store shelves stocked, lights on, and businesses running.
Without skilled, committed truck drivers, much of the commerce in South Africa would probably grind to a halt. And it’s never been more apparent than in the last month as we have seen supply chains collapsing, with road closures and trucks being prevented from transporting much-needed coal, food, fuel and medication.
“Given the massive contribution that truck drivers make to businesses and to South Africa’s GDP, and the immense responsibilities that they have to carry, simply doing their job every day, it is essential that they receive the training, development and support they deserve to equip them for excellence,” says Maré.
How Innovative Learning Solutions (ILS) can help your business
“ILS was established to give truck drivers and their employers easy and affordable access to the training, development and the career support they deserve,” explains Maré, “and in the process, make these drivers, and our roads, safer while adding tangible value to the companies that employ them.”
They have designed a full range of intensive, practical, Transport Education Training Authority (Teta) certified learning experiences for drivers, which dramatically improve their abilities while giving their employers the peace of mind that their staff and freight are safe.
The comprehensive range of services and courses offered by ILS is built on international best practices, and all have been meticulously designed to help code 14 drivers of all experience levels to significantly improve their skills. Courses range from beginner, intermediate and advanced truck driving techniques to techniques for conveying dangerous goods to firefighting, health and safety courses.
In addition, the centre provides drivers with courses that include assessments like full medical exams, polygraph tests, and validation of licences and prior driver training.
The centre also encourages organisations to consider enrolling their logistic staff at the centre for continuous learning which can either be curated for the client, or can be select from the Teta-accredited courses available. The centre can also facilitate learnerships for clients wishing to increase their skills development portfolio and enhance their B-BBEE scorecard.
Career Growth supported by ILS
The courses also offer those seeking employment a significant competitive advantage. “While driver employers are our largest client grouping, we are finding that more and more independent or unemployed drivers are self-funding their course attendance as well,” Maré says, “because they recognise that having a training certificate from ILS is one of the best ways of maximising their chances of finding employment in this tough economy.”
At its recent birthday celebration in June, ILS invited youths from a local children’s home to spend the day at the venue with the intention of enthusing them as to what a career in commercial driving can offer.
They gained a comprehensive overview of what a life in logistics can offer, and Maré says he is convinced that when they sit in the cab of one of these huge 18-wheelers and hear the roar of the engine, “they’ll hear their future careers calling”.
About Innovative Learning Solutions
Innovative Learning Solutions (ILS) has swiftly become a much-needed truck driver training and testing centre, with a focus on upskilling drivers to be the best on the road. Operating from its headquarters in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, ILS is the largest truck driver training facility of its kind in Africa, providing accredited, cost-effective and efficient driver training to raise driver employability levels, mitigate road accidents and enhance productivity for its clients.
Contact us to upskill your drivers and logistics teams:
Email: info@ils-rsa.co.za
Phone: +27 12 010 0414 /+27 78 188 3325
Facebook: www.facebook.com/InnovativeLearningSolutionsSA
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/innovative-learning-solutions-sa/
