Driver training ‘one-stop shop’
A new driver education and training hub has launched in Timaru with the aim of removing barriers to becoming a licensed driver.
South and Mid Canterbury YMCA and the Salvation Army, both of which offer driver education programmes, have partnered to combine their expertise and assist people in getting their driver’s licence.
The hub, situated at the YMCA in Butler St, will enable people to get a driver’s licence regardless of whether they own a vehicle.
Salvation Army driver programme manager Keran Tsering said that with the experience both organisations have, it made sense to collaborate.
‘‘The partnership will combine local knowledge in Timaru with experience in offering driver education programmes.
‘‘The hub will be a one-stop shop for the community to help remove barriers to becoming a licensed driver.’’
YMCA spokeswoman Gail Thompson both organisations work with the disadvantaged. This was a way of ensuring everyone in the district had the opportunity to get their driver’s licence regardless of their socioeconomic circumstances.
‘‘If two [job] applicants are equally qualified and one does not have a licence, it is an automatic disadvantage,’’ she said.
The aim is that in the future everyone would know that the driver training and education hub was the place to go, she said.