Western Roads Federation – HD Driver Training Review

Over to you WESTERN ROADS FEDERATION by Cam Dumesny, CEO

HV Driver Training Review

The Western Australian Government has invested over $6m in a program to train 1000 new drivers into the industry.

The program has now been going for over a year.

The HVDOSS has been considered extraordinarily successful to date through strong enrollment numbers, above average completion percentages and delivery targeted employment outcomes in the, as per Table 1 (below).

The course was initially designed to provide job seekers with a subsidised training opportunity equipping them to be job ready with a Heavy Rigid license.

Enrollment numbers for the first 8-9 months of the program were strong.

The six week course structure was optimised to provide a strong grounding and initial network creation for those new to the industry.

Job Seeker funding enabled students to sustain themselves financially during the six week course.

However, as WA’s economy continued its strong growth there has been a commensurate decline in the number of available un-employed or under employed people interested in taking the course.

Demand however for drivers has not declined and the industry continues to suffer from a skilled labour shortage.

Western Roads Federation involvement

In response, Western Roads Federation (WRF) identified there were still segments of un employed or under employed within WA that had the potential to address industry skills shortage needs.

These segments and actions taken include:

• Migrant and Refugee:

o WRF reached out to a variety of migrant support services in collaboration with the DESE and Red Cross and Multicultural Services Centre WA. o This had a positive effect on boosting enrollment numbers with significant interest shown by both migrants and refugees. o However, the duration of the course and its delivery hours were a major road block for both migrants and refugees who needed to be able to continue to financially support themselves and their families.

• Women:

o Industry participation by women remains below 10% o WRF reached out to members prepared to take a proactive approach to recruitment and potential job restricting to achieve family friendly hours. o A joint open day was conducted in conjunction with a member, DESE promoting family friendly jobs and the training course.

TABLE 1

Enrolments Completion Licensed Employed

Enrolments total 208 182 147 110

Currently in Course or collating data 30 88%

81% 74%