Victorian trucking operator Power's Country Express has taken out the Investing in People prize at this year’s Freight Industry Awards
By Ruza Zivkusic-Aftasi | September 3, 2012
Victorian trucking operator Power’s Country Express has taken out the Investing in People prize at this year’s Freight Industry Awards.
The family-owned business in Bendigo was established by Director Damien Power in 1998 as a one-van operation servicing Bendigo to Swan Hill each night. It now has 36 employees and a fleet of 30 vehicles ranging from one-tonne vans through to B-double combinations.
Power’s business was cited for implementing a flexible training regime for its employees.
“Power’s Country Express identified the need for tailored training and to be able to engage all staff to participate in our programs,” he says.
“I believe we won the award as a result of the training values we have in place, the quality and outcomes of the training and also the fact we endeavoured to address the ever increasing requirements of health and safety within our workplace.”
Power says it is important for all employees to be given the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised qualification.
“We have self-funded our training program if the employee is ineligible for government funding and have addressed a core range of compulsory modules for all of our staff,” he says.
The award represents the first time Power’s Country Express has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Freight Industry Awards, which is run annually by the Victorian Transport Association (VTA).
“It gives our valued employees acknowledgement that is it through their commitment and enthusiasm towards advancing their training and careers that has allowed us to progress our training program to its current state,” Power says of the award.
He says the company’s focus on multi-skilling its staff has helped retention rates and given his team greater flexibility.
The business is now looking at ways to address chronic driver shortages.
“There has been a skilled driver shortage for quite some time in regional areas and we hope to be in a position in the near future to be able to increase the opportunity for younger people to enter the industry within our region,” Power says.
Power’s Country Express carries general freight and caters to large and small clients with a variety of air and road freight requirements.
