Highly trained drivers hit employment brick wall

While the dire skills deficit continues to dominate the headlines, the reality on the ground appears to tell a different story. According to Rob Peacock, co-founder of a transportation entrepreneurship and management development programme, finding entry-level management positions for graduate commercial drivers who have taken their skills training to the next level, is proving a lot more challenging than he ever imagined. The training programme, which was launched two years ago, offers experienced local drivers a sponsored opportunity to travel to the United States where they enrol to study transport entrepreneurship at an accredited community college. This includes qualifying to drive heavy commercial vehicles interstate. Once qualified, students embark on a period of paid internship with Schneider National, a major transport company in the US, with operations in Mexico, Canada, Europe and China. “The idea is that, when they return to South Africa, the combination of their new-found knowledge and in-depth world-class operating experience will equip graduates for a supervisory/ junior management position in an existing company. Alternatively, graduates could consider running their own businesses,” Peacock told FTW. “But none of the transport companies I’ve approached have shown any interest in retaining our first group of graduates,” he said. Candidate selection complied with the very stringent US Department of Transport regulations. The screening process included employment verification reports for up to the previous ten years, criminal record checks, advanced medical exams, drug testing and the like. “Most of the programme is paid for by Schneider National, with the participants contributing to their board, lodging and college education. Ironically, the initial apathy towards the programme was the result of the drivers themselves not believing what was being offered to them. Not only were their airfares, visas and most of their training being paid, but they could expect to earn around $40 000 a year, possibly more.” According to Peacock, for Schneider National the motivation was twofold – supporting its global clients, such as Wal-Mart, by helping to train nationals from the countries in which the clients operate; and as a way of giving back to the community by training people in order to build sustained employability. “Schneider has offered to train some 200 professional drivers per year. Regrettably, rather than being lauded for the initiative, it has been accused of poaching local drivers, which is patently not valid as Schneider recruits around 300 US drivers per week.” The first two groups, comprising 15 drivers, have graduated and are expected back in South Africa shortly. However, they are not finding the opportunities they expected. “They’re now ready to move into supervisory and management positions because they have extensive knowledge and experience to share. Very often they’re people who may not even have completed their schooling and have now gained a college qualification. But the opportunities just aren’t there.” INSERT & CAPTION The training programme offers experienced local drivers a sponsored opportunity to travel to the United States where they enrol to study transport entrepreneurship. – Rob Peacock