“Almost all OECD countries and all industries are experiencing labour force shortages; they will get worse and immigration won’t fix the problem.” This was the blunt message delivered to the road transport industry at last year’s Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand Conference by Director of Predictive Performance and recruitment expert, Andy Foy.

Every transport business that has had to recruit drivers in recent times knows how true Andy’s statement is, which is why we, as an industry, need to invest more to grow our own drivers and solve our long-term workforce issues. 

It is widely acknowledged that the Government’s reluctance to loosen immigratio...