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A South Waikato initiative is successfully pulling down barriers for rural youths to get their driver licences.

Since it began four years ago, 692 students from Tokoroa High School, Forest View High School, Putāruru College, Te Wharekura o Te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Hiringa gained a learner, restricted or full driver’s licence – for free.

The initiative was founded by the South Waikato Investment Fund Trust (Swift), but since last year, the programme has been run by the Putāruru-based Transform Aotearoa Charitable Trust, with great success.

Transform Aotearoa chief executive Howard Goold said the organisations joined forces because they share the same goal: helping young people in provincial New Zealand overcome the barrier of gaining a licence.

“We have been doing a driver training programme for senior high school students for the last few years and we have a high pass rate. We have a system that seems to be working.”

Swift chief executive Amanda Hema said they saw the high success rate Transform Aotearoa had in Putāruru and wanted to roll their programme out district-wide.

Prior to starting the free programme, Swift undertook research into what was preventing young South Waikato people from gaining a licence.

The majority of youths (66%) said they were not confident they would pass their test and 58% said paying for their tests was an obstacle.

Transform Aotearoa Putāruru community liaison Lamen Hohaia, who has been a driving instructor for 10 years, is leading the programme and said he has a near-perfect passing rate.

“For the theory, I have a 100% pass rate. For the practical, we have independent assessors from [Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency]. We are sitting at a 90% pass rate for restricted licences.”

Hohaia, who is assisted by his daughter Amber within the programme, said it was important for instructors to get to a level where the students can trust them.

“You’ve got to be able to talk to kids at their level, so they can express themselves ... Some have ADHD, autism or Asperger’s. You need to recognise that and teach them in other ways,” he said.

South Waikato Investment Fund Trust (Swift) chief executive Amanda Hema.

“You need to be a good reader of people, and sometimes you really need to engage your brain to think of different ways to engage ... them.”

When starting the programme, all students will sit a practice theoretical test straight away so the team can get an idea of how competent each student is.

“If we have a group of 12 over a two-week period, typically seven to eight will pick it up, and then you will have the slow ones. We will work closely with the remaining four or five.”

The team is also running 80-minute theory sessions at high schools and work with young people who can’t read and write.

“We don’t want them to fail, so if they can’t pass my test, we won’t put them through to do the real test until they are ready.”

Shanaka Resch and Gypsey Crawford are delighted to have received their licences. Photo / South Waikato Investment Fund Trust

This term, the Hohaias have given each student three practical driving lessons.

“The three things we work hard on are signalling, speed and head checks – looking at their rear-vision and side mirrors.

“We have a mapped-out a route in Putāruru and the same thing in Tokoroa. If they fail, they get a couple more lessons. We haven’t had anyone fail on a re-sit.”

One of the students who recently received their learner’s licence was Astar Rapson-Jones.

She said the course instructor did a very good job at teaching and helping her learn about the road code.

“Now I am doing driving lessons for a restricted licence. It’s really great, too, that this is a free programme, because otherwise a lot of my friends would have struggled to afford it.”