Getting a licence can help open up opportunities to jobs. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Kate Newton
The number of people learning to drive in manual cars has been steadily declining for years, but does that affect the likelihood of young people finding jobs in certain areas?
Mark Wootten, from Palmerston North employment agency Talent Central, told Morning Report, the real hurdle for young people finding jobs was not having a licence at all.
Talent Central had been running a Work Ready Course in schools which in part helped students learn to drive and get their restricted licence.
Wootten said in regions like Manawatū, just having a licence to be able to get to and from work was important so Talent Central set up a program to help out.
"Within schools we provide lessons to help students get their licences. A lot of the students can't have that opportunity to learn to drive at home, maybe because there is only one vehicle and their parent or caregiver needs to use it for work."
Wootten said when the program began he imagined they would just be "polishing up" students a little bit to pass their restricted tests, but soon found that was not the case.
"We started first with a manual car, but it soon became apparent that wasn't going to work so now we use both manual and automatic."
Wootten believed students were learning on about a 75/25 percent split - with most students preferring to learn in an automatic.
"By giving them support and opportunity to get their licence it really gives them more job opportunities."
When speaking to employers, Wootten said he found most places were now providing automatic vehicles so there was less of a need to learn in a manual.
"[Cars] have stopped being driven and you're more of an operator. I think this could be the last generation that gets to physically drive vehicles without being fully automated."
Unfortunately, Wootten said despite the driving lessons getting good results with students passing their restricted test the first time in about 95 percent of cases, funding from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and the Regional Growth Fund had ceased this year.
"So no we're actually out of business. People were pretty upset, our data collection proved you were far more likely to get a job if you had a licence."
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