A driver training consultant from Bibby Distribution has travelled more than 7,000 miles to help change lives and improve the standard of truck driving instructors in Africa with international development organisation Transaid.
Driver training consultant George Nicoll swapped his usual duties of maintaining high standards within Bibby Distribution’s tanker division in Mauchline, Ayrshire, for the bustle of Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam, directly passing on his skills to his counterparts at the country’s National Institute of Transport.
Nicoll, who has 20 years’ experience, spent 10 days in the country with driving instructors Deogratias Mahuwi, Ernest Mapunda, and Ishmael Singajile. Thanks to Nicoll’s training, all three have substantially improved their technical knowledge and teaching ability.
Nicoll says: “Driving instructors in Tanzania get little formal training, so by spending time helping them improve their own skills, we have raised teaching standards which in turn could help save lives.”
Supported by Bibby Distribution, Transaid’s professional driver training programme in Tanzania is crucial as the country has the sixth highest road fatality rate in the world per capita, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Duncan Eyre, Managing Director at Bibby Distribution, says: “Transaid’s professional driver training projects fit with our core values of safety, responsibility and giving back to the community. George’s efforts will leave a lasting legacy in Tanzania and empower the trainers he has worked with to make even more of a difference to road safety.”
Caroline Barber, Chief Executive of Transaid, says: “Drivers shouldn’t leave home for a day’s work in fear they may not come home because of a lack of training, or dangerous vehicles and roads. The support and expertise generously given to us by the team at Bibby Distribution is truly transforming lives in Tanzania and we are so grateful for their partnership.”
Bibby Distribution is one of the founding supporters of Transaid, an organisation set up nearly 20 years ago by its patron HRH The Princess Royal to provide and promote safe, available and sustainable transport.
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Notes to editors:
As one of the top ten logistics providers in the UK, Bibby Distribution exists to enable other companies to drive value from their supply chain activities. The company specialises in providing contract logistics, warehousing, distribution, systems integration and added value services to a wide range of customers.
Bibby Distribution operates from 90 locations across the UK, employs 2,000 people and manages 2million ft² of warehousing space.
The majority of Bibby Distribution’s business is based on long-term partnerships. Its diverse capability also means it can share best practice across the various industry sectors it operates in, from Automotive to FMCG.
Bibby Distribution is part of Bibby Line Group, a diverse and forward-looking family business delivering personal, responsive and flexible customer solutions for over 200 years.
Bibby Line Group is a £1.4 billion business, operating in more than 20 countries, employing over 4,500 people in industries including retail, offshore, financial services, distribution, shipping, marine based businesses, plant hire and woodland burials.
To find out more about Bibby Line Group, visit www.bibbylinegroup.co.uk.
Bibby Distribution, Head office, 105 Duke Street, Liverpool, L1 5JQ.
www.bibbydist.co.uk
Further press information:
James Boley at Garnett Keeler PR on 020 8647 4467.
