Women make their mark in trucking

Determined to make their mark in the trucking world are (from left) Nonhlanhla Ngubane, Lindiwe Myakayaka and Patricia Mbambo, supported by their driver trainer, Nduna Chari.

The Barloworld Transport Training Academy has spearheaded a first-of-its-kind Professional Driver Learnership Programme (PDLP) for women drivers.

According to Rosa McLaren, Barloworld Transport marketing general manager, 43 women are currently completing the final stages of the programme and enrolment is under way for a further 40 women to be incorporated into the programme at the end of this month.

“Gender imbalance and issues of diversity and inclusion in the commercial transport industry are gradually being addressed as more women get behind the wheel,” said McLaren, pointing to statistics published recently by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which revealed that South Africa needed at least 15 000 new professional truck drivers every year.

The Barloworld Transport Training Academy is a fully accredited training centre, registered with the Transport Education Training Authority (Teta) and Department of Higher Education, and was established to address key skills requirements and development needs in the transport sector.

Numerous learnership and apprenticeship programmes are available through the academy for both employed and unemployed learners throughout southern Africa.

One of the female learners, Patricia Mbambo, said: “The learnership programme has equipped me with a wealth of knowledge and I have been taught the ropes of truck driving well. 

“I am proudly the first female truck driver in Mpendle, a small town west of Pietermaritzburg.”