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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
JANUARY 2015
2
finish the programme. Maybe the truck and
heavy equipment industry has a less glam-
orous appeal than other industries such as
motor cars, boats and even aircraft but it’s
the construction equipment and truck in-
dustry that is showing the growth and sta-
bility even in these tough economic times
the country is facing. Its a tough business
and not an easy one but those that have
stuck it out have reaped some rich rewards
not only financially but have assured them-
selves of long term careers that have taken
them beyond their sell by dates and with
the added advantage of remaining a useful
contributor to the transport network.
Attracting school leavers and graduates to
the industry requires a lot of hard work by
those of us who are stalwarts of trucking
and heavy equipment and we should make
it our quest to attract the right calibre of
candidates, using whatever means we have
at our disposal to do so. Heavy equipment
and trucking have an image problem in
that they don’t have an image. Young peo-
ple need to be made aware that there are
some awesome machines out there with
600 horsepower under the hood and capa-
ble of hauling 120 tons at any given time.
Manufacturers should spend some of those
marketing budgets attracting youngsters to
the industry by having more promotional
activities which are focused on recruitment.
There are many opportunities at various
shows to create that kind of exposure and
even some hard selling at schools and col-
leges to attract the right candidates
The future development of this country is in
the hands of youthful entrepreneurs of to-
day so let’s bring them in and give them the
tools to succeed.
Pierre Sanson, Editor
D
uring the past year we have given
coverage to a host of new ventures
in the automotive industry. There
have been no fewer than four major events
which have heralded the opening of new
and upgraded manufacturing plants in the
truck industry. Isuzu, Hyundai, FAW and
Iveco have re-affirmed their commitment
to the local market with this latest move. A
wealth of opportunities for the various man-
ufacturers concerned have opened up and
created economic opportunities for the re-
gions where the various plants are situated.
Labour is the backbone of any enterprise of
this nature and these new ventures have set
the bar for employment opportunities and
skills development.
We all talk about the skills shortage but what
are we doing about it? Many of the larg-
er manufacturers have their own institutes
that offer first class training for their staff in
all aspects of truck and equipment mainte-
nance, driver training, and even sales. This
is all well and good but many start and few
BUILDING
a skills platform
COMMENT