Explore careers

Useful experience for heavy truck drivers includes work:

• as a driver
• as a truck driver's assistant
• at loading and unloading facilities
• in goods handling and management
• in warehouses or stores
• in an industry related to the materials being transported – for example, farming experience before driving livestock.

Heavy truck drivers may do some or all of the following:

• routinely check their truck
• weigh their truck before and after it is loaded
• supervise or help with loading their truck
• check the condition of the load and that it is secure
• follow correct safety procedures
• keep records of, and check invoices for, goods they carry
• plan the best delivery route
• pick up goods and make deliveries
• keep a logbook of the hours they work.

Truck drivers working as groundspreaders also spread fertiliser on farmers' land.

Your chances of securing a job as a heavy truck driver are best if you:

• are based in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty or Christchurch 
• hold heavy rigid and combination vehicle licences, allowing you to drive larger trucks
• are an experienced, reliable driver with a proven track record.

Good demand for heavy truck drivers

More than 7,000 new truck drivers will be needed by 2022, according to Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand, because of:

• increasing demand
• retirement of existing drivers.

As a result:

• Heavy truck driver appears on Immigration New Zealand's construction and infrastructure skill shortage list
• Truck drivers primarily driving vehicles that require a class 4 or 5 licence appear appears on Immigration New Zealand's transport sector agreement.

 This means the Government is actively encouraging skilled heavy truck drivers from overseas to work in New Zealand.

The Te ara ki tua Road to Success traineeship matches people who want to become truck drivers with employers who can offer training. 

According to the Census, 34,560 heavy truck drivers worked in New Zealand in 2018.

September to February peak time for heavy truck driver opportunities

Demand for heavy truck drivers is usually highest between September and February. This is due to increased activity during spring and summer in many industries that rely on trucking, such as infrastructure, agriculture and forestry.

While demand is generally higher during this time, some sectors of the transport industry have different peak times.

Heavy truck drivers can be self-employed

Some heavy truck drivers are self-employed contractors who own a vehicle and contract their services on a long or short-term basis.

Heavy truck drivers also work as employees for a wide range of industries and organisations such as:

• freight companies
• fertiliser spreading companies
• trucking companies specialising in particular industries such as forestry, dairy and petroleum
• large companies with their own transport fleets
• local and regional councils, and contractors working on their behalf
• the New Zealand Army.

MITO

0800 882 121 - info@mito.org.nz - www.mito.org.nz

Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

(04) 472 3877 - info@transporting.nz - www.transporting.nz

NZ Trucking Association

0800 338 338 - info@trucking.nz - www.nztruckingassn.co.nz

National Road Carriers

0800 686 777 - enquiries@natroad.co.nz - www.natroad.co.nz

Heavy truck drivers may buy their own vehicle and become self-employed. They may eventually run a fleet of trucks and employ a number of truck drivers.

It is also possible to move into:

• distribution or haulage management
• transport and logistics planning.

Heavy truck drivers may specialise in a particular area of truck driving such as:

• line haulage (city-to-city driving)
• driving trucks within town or city centres
• driving trucks for specific industries such as forestry or petroleum
• groundspreading (spreading fertiliser on farms).

Heavy truck drivers need to be:

• punctual
• reliable and responsible
• able to follow instructions
• able to remain calm in emergencies
• able to work well under pressure
• courteous and law-abiding on the road.