Plugging in to driver training

Three Toyota Prius plug-in electric hybrids (PHEVs) have been provided for a national driver training programme.

Toyota New Zealand has loaned them to the Manfeild based National Driver Training Centre.

The programme is focused on increasing the number of secondary school students attaining a restricted licence, while providing NCEA credits and a defensive driving qualification to help them get jobs.

“This programme, aimed at getting well trained, suitably qualified young drivers onto our roads, is a fantastic initiative, especially considering the lower numbers of secondary school students with an appropriate licence,” Toyota New Zealand marketing general manager Andrew Davis says.

“The Prius PHEVs are the kind of technology that will become increasingly common in the future, so getting drivers used to its operation makes sense.”

Davis says formal driver training also makes for safer drivers.

The new government has pledged to make driver education more accessible to enable school leavers to travel to and from jobs and make them more employable.

Recent surveys have found only 44% of all 18 to 24-year-olds have a restricted licence or better, while less than 25% of school leavers have some type of driver’s licence.

In recent years, many industries which use lots of drivers have struggled to find suitably qualified staff.

The road transport industry has combined with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to encourage more people into driving as a career through a Sector Workforce Employment Programme.

The National Driver Training Centre aims to provide suitably qualified drivers who have completed the first steps towards a job where a driving licence is required.

The centre has an open day for school principals, career advisors and gateway coordinators on November 21 to explain the courses and opportunities it provides.