An initiative to diversify and grow the transport industry workforce has just has its first birthday and has already made some great progress in promoting the sector as a career option for women.
The Women in Road Transport (WiRT) initiative was launched in August last year as a strategy to help combat the expected shortage of drivers.
The initiative is driven by an industry-wide oversight group which is seeking to highlight the transport sector as a career option and raise the participation rate of women from its current rate of around 16 per cent.
“We’ve had some amazing progress to date, with great publicity resulting in a significant amount of interest being shown in the initiative,” says Jackie Carroll of Tranzliquid Logistics Limited, one of the oversight group members.
A range of business and strategic plans are being developed by the oversight group and a nationwide network is also being put in place to provide support and mentoring to both employers and drivers.
“During these early stages of WiRT it is about getting the message out, showcasing existing women in the industry, with the objective to get enquires that will lead to career choices within the industry,” Jackie says.
The Transport Agency is backing the move, with General Manager Access and Use Celia Patrick saying “This is a fantastic initiative; it’s great to see the transport industry working together to tackle the forecast shortage in drivers and we wish them every success.”
