charity|training|transport Archives

Transaid launches driver training project in Mozambique

Posted on 27 June, 2022 by David Priestman

Transaid is preparing to support refresher training for at least 400 heavy goods vehicle drivers within small and medium-size enterprises (SME) in Mozambique, just a few months after securing a contract to extend its professional driver training work into yet another sub-Saharan country.

It follows a period of intense work by the Transaid team within the southern African nation, where it has been working to assess the supply and demand of local drivers and driver training. This has included developing a suite of demand-orientated road safety, defensive driving and soft skills courses to be offered by local driving schools and in-house trainers.

Transaid’s heavy involvement is part of an initiative led by GIZ Employment and Skills for Development in Africa (E4D), which is funded by the German government with support from the Norwegian government, Appload, and EnergyWorks.

Neil Rettie, Road Safety Project Manager at Transaid, explains: “HGV driver training is currently limited in Mozambique, and it raises concerns that drivers are not sufficiently trained for the demanding roles they undertake. This in turn puts both them and other road users at serious risk.”

Transaid’s brief is to train a minimum of 10 driving instructors from four to five training schools, who will then deliver training to at least 400 existing HGV drivers.

Rettie adds: “We are confident our proven ‘train the trainer’ model will help to deliver a sustainable change to driver training standards in Mozambique, just as it’s already doing in countries including Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

“This is a really important project for Transaid, as it directly supports our belief that drivers should be able to leave for a day’s work without the fear they may not come home because of a lack of training, or dangerous vehicles and roads.”

There are currently no standardised training materials for driving schools and other training providers in Mozambique, and training is largely aimed at fast acquisition of driving permits – rather than imparting high quality skills. As a result, many professional drivers depend largely on peer-to-peer or self-learning methods, and do not undergo structured and comprehensive practical and theoretical training.

This initial project to deliver training to at least 400 drivers is scheduled to be completed by July 2023.

Transaid announces Mozambique expansion

Posted on 11 November, 2021 by David Priestman

Transaid used the occasion of its recent annual showcase in London to announce the further expansion of its professional driver training programme into Mozambique – less than a year after securing the funding to launch a similar project in Ghana.

Chief Executive Caroline Barber shared the news with a group of around 100 corporate members and supporters gathered at law firm Ashurst LLP on Tuesday, highlighting how the international development organisation’s track record for delivering life-saving work means it is now regularly approached to expand its activities into new countries.

Opening the event, she said: “We have already built many sustainable and impactful partnerships around our road safety work, but sadly there remains considerable need for similar programmes in many more sub-Saharan countries.

“The Mozambique project is expected to kick-off later this month, with funding from the German government, and we are confident that by sharing our knowledge and expertise, we can improve training standards and make the roads safer for everyone.”

Recognising Transaid’s resilience during the pandemic, she added: “I am very proud that during these challenging times we have managed to carry on delivering impactful work and incorporated a successful COVID-19 response into many of our programmes. This has only been possible thanks to our strong partnerships, incredible teams and partners in Africa, and the remarkable support from the transport industry and those that fund our work.”

The showcase also provided an opportunity to share updates on many of Transaid’s 12 live programmes which currently span nine countries. This includes a recent project to help mobilise Africa’s young women into the labour force, by first understanding the challenges they face when accessing public transport in outlying neighbourhoods.

Transaid patron Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal also addressed the audience in a video message, in which she thanked the industry for its tireless support.

The event concluded with the presentation of the Victor Simfukwe Awards, in memory of the former Transaid team member who passed away in 2019 following a road traffic accident in Zambia. Now in their second year, the awards recognise an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to further the organisation’s work in the previous 12 months.

Transaid Project Officer Shadi Ambrosini was Highly Commended for his outstanding efforts across multiple projects, whilst the overall award was won by Guy Heywood, Director Marketing & Sales Europe at Hankook, for his outstanding fundraising achievements. Within the last year alone this has included running the London Marathon and cycling 503km across Malawi – both virtually.

Speaking after the awards, Heywood said: “There were definitely tough times during these challenges, but I completed each one with a smile on my face as I crossed the finishing line – both from knowing it was over, but also from the reassurance that Transaid will use the money to improve peoples’ lives. I am truly humbled to be associated with Victor; his dedication to saving and enriching lives was outstanding and what always impressed me was his positive and smiling attitude.”

Transaid scores training success in Uganda

Posted on 5 May, 2021 by David Priestman

An independent assessment of international development organisation Transaid ’s Professional Driver Training Programme in Uganda has found that 100% of trainees felt the knowledge and experience acquired during the training equipped them with the necessary skills needed to enter the job market.

Of 194 drivers surveyed for the end of project evaluation report, conducted by an external evaluator, 90% also reported feeling safer on the road as a result of the training and 99% felt the training either met or exceeded their expectations.

The four-year project began in 2016 to improve the standards of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) and public service vehicle (PSV) driver training and to expand training capacity throughout the country.

The objective has been to improve road safety in a country which suffers one of Africa’s worst road traffic incident rates, claiming an estimated 12,000 lives each year and to ensure Ugandan drivers can meet the needs of the private sector as demand for qualified drivers grows.

To date, the project has delivered specialist HGV & PSV training to 17 Ugandan trainers, representing 7 different training schools, and responsible for training 642 drivers overall – all to the standards of the East African Community (EAC) curriculum for large commercial vehicle drivers, developed by Transaid to harmonise road safety standards in the region.

A core component of the programme has been to train trainers and subsequently drivers of commercial vehicles, building local skills that will enable communities to continue the important road safety work in a sustainable manner, without requiring external support in the long term.

Reflecting on the work of the programme, Caroline Barber, CEO of Transaid, said: “We are incredibly proud of what this project has achieved over the last four years.

“The programme has driven up training standards and made training far more accessible to Ugandan drivers, upskilling the workforce. This will have a lasting impact on the transport and logistics sector in Uganda, and road safety more generally.

“Prior to the programme starting in 2016, driver training expertise was commonly imported from outside the country, whereas now we are seeing the transport sector utilising Uganda’s highly-qualified trainers – who are considered to be amongst the best in the region – a testament to the scheme’s success.

“As ever, none of this would have been possible without the phenomenal support from the UK transport and logistics industry, which has been pivotal to this programme’s success in providing staff and equipment for training and sharing industry best practice and knowledge with the local teams on the ground.”

Transaid’s involvement in this phase of the programme came to an end in November 2020, but the important work continues under the stewardship of its project partner Safe Way Right Way, at the specialist HGV & PSV training school in Mukono. Transaid is currently exploring options for a second phase to the programme to widen the impact and bring in a strong focus on women’s empowerment in the sector.

The programme has been undertaken in partnership with the German development cooperation’s Employment and Skills for Eastern Africa initiative, local non-governmental organisation Safe Way Right Way and the Ugandan government and local private sector.

The Professional Driver Training Programme in Uganda (PDTU) is an initiative of the GIZ Employment and Skills for Development in Africa (E4D) programme which is funded by the German and Norwegian governments. The initiative is being implemented in partnership with Transaid and Safe Way Right Way on behalf of GIZ E4D.

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