Edition 77, April 2010

Trucking driver licensing proposal put forward

The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has released a proposal to change the truck driver licensing system to increase drivers' skills and encourage more job seekers to consider truck driving as a career.

The trucking industry faces a shortage of skilled heavy vehicle drivers, due to the industry's ageing workforce, the increasing freight task and competition from other industries, such as mining.

In response to these issues, the ATA's enhanced licensing standard proposal would offer an accelerated career path for drivers entering the industry, allowing them to qualify more quickly for the semi-trailer and multi-combination driving jobs where the industry is experiencing its greatest skill shortages.

The recently released 2010 Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council Environmental Scan has revealed that unless something is done to increase the pool of heavy vehicle licence holders, the industry will face a severe shortage of drivers in the future.

The scan, which was conducted through a range of interviews and surveys late last year, found that as the freight task increases in the coming years, operators believe finding drivers will become more difficult.

"Before the global financial crisis, productivity in the transport industry was hampered by the limited pool of skilled heavy vehicle drivers," the report says.

"Under present licensing arrangements, the time required to achieve a heavy vehicle licence means drivers cannot be trained quickly enough to meet demand in a strengthened economy.

"It is anticipated that there will be rapid growth in demand for higher-level heavy and combination vehicle driving skills.

"Satisfying this demand will require strategies to increase the total pool of appropriately skilled drivers," it says.

ATA Chairman, Trevor Martyn, said the results of the scan proved that a program such as the enhanced licensing proposal would be beneficial.

"The Environmental Scan shows that, unless something is done soon, the trucking industry will struggle to find the drivers it needs to meet demand," Mr Martyn says.

The ATA's enhanced licensing standard proposal can be downloaded at the ATA website at www.atatruck.net.au

To download the TLISC 2010 Environmental Scan visit www.tlisc.com.au

This page was generated on 10 May, 2010

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