A re-elected Cook Government in WA has pledged $17.4 million to establish the state’s first dedicated Heavy Vehicle Training facility at Neerabup, in Perth’s north.
The new site would provide the metropolitan area with a new dedicated, TAFE-run training facility with the capacity to train 170 students a year from 2026, Labor said in a media statement today.
It would include heavy rigid trucks and trailers, forklift trucks, a high-tech Heavy Vehicle Driving Simulator and wide roads that are suitable for providing practical on-road skilled driver training.
The centre is seen as an extension of the highly successful state-funded Heavy Vehicle Driving Operations Skill Set program devised by the Western Roads Federation (WRF) that has trained hundreds of much-needed transport and logistics, civil construction and mining workers in partnership with industry.
WRF CEO Cam Dumesny welcomed the news today and told Big Rigs that the WRF and the Transport Workers Union in WA had been working together to establish a dedicated facility for some time.
“This investment is a direct response to the critical shortage of skilled heavy vehicle drivers in Western Australia and follows extensive lobbying by the TWU for better training pathways and industry reform,” added TWU WA State Secretary Tim Dawson in a statement.
“The TWU has been fighting for years to ensure proper training and career pathways for heavy vehicle drivers. This announcement shows that the Cook Government is listening to industry voices and taking real action to address the driver shortage.”
Dawson said the TWU has also been calling for an apprenticeship-style career path, accredited training, and the introduction of a skills passport to ensure that transport workers receive relevant, standardised, and portable training throughout their careers.
“This funding is a great start, we need to build a long-term plan that includes full-time employment, better wages, and stronger industry regulation to make transport a safer and more attractive career option,” Dawson said.
WA goes to the polls on March 8 with Labor heavily favoured to regain power.