More than three years since its launch, the TAFE-run Heavy Vehicle Driving Operations Skill Set course continues to lead the way in recruiting new faces into the industry in WA.
The six week-long, fee-free program, the brainchild of the Western Roads Federation (WRF), boasts an impressive 79 per cent completion rate.
In the Perth metropolitan area alone there has been 1091 students sign up and, at the time of writing, that equates to close to 800 new employees (75 per cent of whom are drivers), says course director and WRF consultant, Neil Savage.
“That primarily comes from the Western Roads Federation’s links back into industry,” Savage said.
The state government-backed course has been so successful it has now been replicated across the state, from the southern region to the north.
Savage said demand from industry for recruits continues to grow.
“If you go on to Seek for an HR job in Perth, or WA, there’s about 2500 jobs a day available,” Savage said.
“We can’t get enough drivers. If you’re willing to work, Western Roads Federation can definitely get you a job.
“I have employers asking, ‘Have you got graduates ready? Where could I use them? Have you got anyone that might be suitable for this? I need to upskill someone, who can I have?
“We’ve created that pipeline at the other end now.”
As an example, Savage cited the course underway at the time of writing at Muresk. He’s already fielded 10 job offers for the 18 students before they’d sat their first test.
“It can be anything from a hotshot driver to a ‘dumpy’.”
Savage said the only fees that students need to pay are for the licences; $90 for the forklift, and $83 for the HR auto.
“They also get six units which take them from a ‘no-experience’ driver to probably a foundational employee.”
Salvage stresses however, that standards are very high when it comes to passing the HR program which consists of eight units, down from the original 18.
Only half of each intake will pass the units on the first attempt.
Working closely with the Transport Workers’ Union in the state, the course also now has a safety-first focus, concentrating squarely on what Savage calls the foundational employment skills.
“So, chain of responsibility [CoR], fatigue management, work, health and safety in the workplace, looking at loading and unloading a truck.
“Also we provide training for a forklift licence.
“How it works is that if you don’t pass your HR, we get you into a ground level job.
“They can either come back and do some more lessons, or they can go to a private RTO [registered training organisation].”
Savage stresses that the course isn’t just about providing a truck licence.
“We are trying to make them understand their place in the CoR and their responsibilities within the chain.”
Savage is also proud of the fact the course appeals to a wide demographic, from those looking to break into the job market for the first time, to others looking for a completely new career change.
“If you look at the way transport industry historically got its employees, it was because your dad was a driver, or your brother was a driver, but that stops, right?
“No one goes out to Year 9 students and says, ‘do you want to be a transport driver?’
“So, I think this course has changed that. We’re taking it to the Year 9s, and we’re saying, actually, this is a really good job. You can fly in, fly out eventually, but in the meantime, you can do trucks, you can do buses, you can work.
“Introducing the idea at a much earlier age seems to be working.”
An industry-leading 24 per cent of students are also female, almost all of whom find a job. WRF is especially proud of the employment pathway the course has provided for women from domestic violence situations.
“One of the things this job does, it gives you a safe place,” Savage said. “It’s like a travelling home, and we’ve found that women really like that and respond to it well.”
Visit the TAFE WA or WRF websites for more information on how to book your slot.