For Sam Hullick, 51, her love of trucks started while working for a shipping company. “I’d see the trucks coming in and that sparked an interest in wanting to get my truck licence,” she said.
Now she’s passing on her skills and experience as a driver trainer and assessor. “I’ve had the privilege to work with some very enthusiastic people to help them gain their desired license. I’ve found my niche in training and upskilling those who are new to the industry, passing on knowledge and experience from my previous roles,” explained Sam.
As she revealed, both her father and brother are also truck drivers, so trucking really is in the blood.
Based in Darwin, Sam spent four years travelling and working all around Australia between 2009-2013. “I got my open HR licence in 2010 while I was in Kalgoorlie.”
Sam then travelled to Queensland, where she soon found work driving water carts, tippers and moxies for the civil construction industry.
“There was one site I was working on at Curtis Island, where you’d have truck and dogs coming in. I wanted to be able to drive them too. I thought why stop there, so in 2013, I got my MC,” she said.
At the time she was working six days a week and would make the 5-hour round trip from Gladstone to Bundaberg for her MC driving lessons because there wasn’t anywhere closer – and she was determined to progress her skills.
“The attraction was the thought of driving the bigger rigs. I’d see them on the road and it pulls at the heart strings. I just wanted to drive the biggest truck I could. I guess there’s always more a person can do, more they can learn.”
Securing her MC licence opened up driving opportunities in the mining field, which brought her back home from Queensland to Darwin. “I ended up driving haul trucks for a few years. Since then I have floated between civil, mining and the transport industries, driving a variety of trucks from dump trucks, side tippers to delivering general freight,” said Sam.
“At one stage I was driving this old truck called Red Dog. It was rough as – everyone hated it, but I loved it. I’ve always been taught to turn your weaknesses into your strengths.”
Then in 2022, Sam completed her Certificate IV in Training and Assessing.
She currently does FIFO work, driving underground trucks in the mines. It’s two weeks on and two weeks off, and that suits her to a tee.
“I do the training on my weeks off for a company called Kullaru Pty Ltd, which is a registered training organisation. I now train truck drivers up to HC. Once I’ve had my accreditation for 12 months, I’m hoping to start training up to MC,” added Sam.
Kullaru is owned and run by Deb and Ged. “They gave me an opportunity to become a full time trainer and assessor in town, delivering White Card, Forklift, Secure Cargo/Load and Unload Restraint courses, then after further study I gained my Certificate IV in Motor Vehicle Driver Training and was approved by the Motor Vehicle Registry Office as a Heavy Vehicle Driving Examiner for LR-HC licenses.”
As a driver trainer and assessor, Sam says she takes the role very seriously. “I want to see my learners operating safely and competently. If I wouldn’t feel safe working with or driving with these people on the road, I won’t give them their licence,” she explained.
“I’m very particular. I don’t just hand them out. I do fail a lot of people for not understanding things like basic road rules.
“I do a lot of HR licencing and that’s where it all starts. You need to have that for 12 months, so that provides the foundation before you upgrade and start adding trailers.
“I think the HR licensing is a very important step to building a career in truck driving. You have to get that right from the start.”
With her current underground driving role being very different to where she started, Sam says working as a driver trainer is a great chance to be back out on the road.
“I enjoy being in the trucks. With underground driving, yes it’s a truck, but it’s not the same – I love being out on the road. I’m a different person when I’m messing around with the freight and trailers.
“There’s also seeing people walk in the door, male or female, and wanting to upskill themselves and grow personally. I enjoy being able to help them do that.
“I try and train them in a way that I would like to be trained. You need to give direct, clear and straight to the point instructions to the learner, to get your point across.
“I want to be that trainer that people are comfortable with. I think that when you’re comfortable, you take more in too.”