The truck wheels that screeched to a halt this year due to an extreme driver shortage might spin once again, following government approval of a national truck driving apprenticeship program.

In a bid to revive driver numbers and attract more people to the in-demand profession, industry bodies developed a proposal to re-work TAFE’s existing Cert III in Driving Operations to include supervised on-the-job experience, delivering the course in an apprenticeship format to reduce the time and cost barriers to gaining a licence. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the national apprenticeship yesterday, saying the program is a critical step to address a potential shortfall in the trucking workforce while meeting supply chain challenges.

“Securing Australia’s economic recovery relies on the thousands of men and women driving trucks around our country every single day,” the Prime Minister said.

“Our trucking sector drives our economy and there couldn’t be a more important job than getting food on the table to millions of families or delivering COVID-19 vaccines to doctors, hospitals and pharmacies across Australia,” Mr Morrison said.

The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) Chairman Scott Davidson said that the news was a huge end-of-year boost for the heavy vehicle industry after yet another tough year.

“This builds the undeniable links between driver education, safety and professionalism and should be applauded by everyone,” Mr Davidson said. 

“A shortage of skilled drivers is an ongoing problem for our sector and this will help alleviate that,” he said. 

NatRoad’s 2020 survey revealed that the shortage was widespread, with 45 per cent of respondents experiencing issues securing enough drivers.

Locally, the shortage of truck drivers has caused yet another barrier to harvest efforts across the Western Plains, with some trucks being forced to remain in the shed over the season.

Brewarrina-based truck driver and owner Chris Redmond said that being able to put drivers in seats costs trucking companies hundreds of thousands of dollars with each truck lost.

According to Mr Redmond, the current complicated license process is a deterrent for aspiring truck drivers. 

“It takes too long to get their licence. It’s a whole rigmarole with years before they can even drive," Mr Redmond said. 

"The cost is too high to make the wait worth it for most people,”

Following the commonwealth’s approval, the new framework is now in the hands of individual states to roll out the apprenticeship pathway and pressure will be on from industry stakeholders to accelerate the process.