Botswana needs to up its training game

Botswana needs to invest heavily
in training for its transport and
logistics industry as the lack
of skills continues to impact
negatively, according to Kevin
Lees of Truckhire.
“We have a severe lack of
artisans and truck drivers at
present, as well as general skills.
More training is necessary from
government side as well as the
private sector.”
According to Lees one of the
major obstacles is the lack of any
facilities or specific courses in
the country, making it reliant on
South Africa for training.
“The government does offer
a tax rebate for training of
employees, but it is not always
feasible because there not many
training facilities.”
This means employees have
to come to South Africa for
specialised training, which can
be costly.
And the transport industry
for the most part attracts very
specific kinds of people,
especially when one is looking at
truck drivers. “Not just anyone
can be a truck driver,” said
Lees. “It is a difficult job to do
at the best of times. Another
major obstacle is that often
companies invest heavily in
training employees only to find
them leaving and joining the
competition. It is important that
we as an industry keep standards
at a specific level and ensure we
are continuously training our
people despite these challenges.”
He said difficult economic
times were an ideal time to train
workers. “I think it is important
to resist the urge to retrench
workers when the going gets
tough as it is expected to in the
next few months. When we
retrench we lose the skills we
have built up during the boom
times and it ultimately impacts
even more negatively in the
long run.”
The shortage of skilled drivers
remains another major concern
for operators in Botswana,
according to Lees.
“Drivers in our industry are
crucial and if we do not address
the shortage we are going to run
into some severe problems in the
near future.”
Lees believes one of the major
problems is that standards are
not kept at a consistent level.
“Companies are taking on drivers
with blemished records because
drivers are so scarce at present.”
He says it’s also important that
the industry as a whole ensures
that drivers are paid well and
incentivised to do well to ensure
that the standard is kept high.
This, he says, will also go a long
way in stopping drivers from
job-hopping.