The world of finance might seem like a far cry from trucking – but swapping banking for bitumen turned out to be just what Shannon Fallows needed.
Shannon was living in Sydney, working as a customer excellence associate at ING Australia, when he decided he wanted a change.
“I’m from Adelaide and I wanted to move back home, so I resigned from my job and relocated,” he said.
“When I was looking for a new job, I wanted something different. I didn’t want to be sitting in an office all day, I wanted to be outside.”
Shannon applied for a few different roles, including one at a train company and the defence forces.
But when he was offered a traineeship with Hanson Australia, he jumped at the chance to get behind the wheel of a truck.
Now he drives a concrete agitator, delivering concrete from the Hanson plant to customers throughout the Adelaide metropolitan area – and he’s really enjoying it so far.
“I like being on the road, and being in the truck by myself,” he said.
“You don’t really know what each day will entail until you’re doing it, so there’s a lot of variety.”
Shannon had never driven a truck before.
So Hanson paid for him to get his licence as part of their trainee driver program.
He was paired with one of their drivers for four weeks as he learned the ropes.
“At first, they would only let me drive with an empty truck, like when we were on the way back from a job,” he said.
“Then as my confidence grew and they could see that I was able to drive safely, they would let me drive with a smaller load and gradually I built up to driving with a full load.
“In my last week I was paired with someone who assessed me and signed me off as competent, and they put me in a truck by myself.”
Shannon said the trainee program was a great way for him to improve his skills under supervision.
“In trucking, some mistakes can be life-threatening, so you have to be really careful,” he said.
“The people I was paired with had years of experience.
“One of them had 30 years behind him. They would stop me straight away if I did something that might be dangerous, and they might take over or help me.
“We would debrief at the end of the day and go through areas where I might be struggling, and they would give me guidance.”
Shannon thinks trainee programs like Hanson’s are a fantastic way to recruit more drivers.
“I’m 43 – most people, when they get to my age, might feel like they are stuck in their careers and can’t change.
“This sort of program gives people like me – or young people, or people returning to work after a break – a great opportunity to join the transport industry.”
To learn more about the current traineeship opportunities at Hanson, visit hanson.com.au or contact one of the company’s regional offices.