Truck driver apprenticeships should start in 2023: ATA

School students and recent school leavers should be able to take up truck driving apprenticeships from early 2023, the Chair of the Australian Trucking Association, David Smith, said today

Mr Smith was releasing the ATA’s response to an Australian Industry Standards proposal to introduce a two-year truck driver apprenticeship.

“There are great driving jobs available in our industry, but too many job seekers don’t know they exist or don’t know how to get the skills and contacts they need,” Mr Smith said.

“A truck driver apprenticeship would enable apprentices to move around to different types of driving, as well providing supervision, coaching and mentoring to help them through their training.

“The apprenticeship should be targeted at current school students (through school based training) and recent school leavers. The apprenticeship should be amended to include a forklift licence as a core unit, so apprentices can do meaningful work as soon as possible,” Mr Smith said.

“The apprenticeship could also be made relevant to people changing careers by including business skills electives.

“The units in the apprenticeship should be subject to regular reviews as technology changes, and the qualification you get at the end should be renamed as a Certificate III in commercial heavy vehicle operations.

“It won’t happen in livestock any time soon, but many of the people starting their driver apprenticeships in the coming years will spend most of their careers managing self-driving vehicles, not driving them,” he said.

The AIS proposal said that the creation of a national apprenticeship for heavy vehicle drivers constitutes the first significant step towards the professionalisation of the road transport industry in Australia.

Mr Smith said AIS should develop a project timeline that would see the first apprentices start their training within 18 months, from early 2023.

“Over the years, we’ve seen so many proposals for improving truck driver training get bogged down without results. AIS needs to have a project plan to get us from here to the first apprentices starting on the job in 2023,” he said.

“As part of this plan, the future supervisors of apprentice drivers should be able to access free, nationally-recognised training in how to supervise apprentices,” Mr Smith concluded.

You can read the ATA submission and even have your say here.

Truck driver apprenticeships should start in 2023: ATA

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