“Prioritising driver education underscores a company’s commitment to road safety through higher training standards,” said Senator Glenn Sterle (ALP WA) during a meeting at Parliament House today with Mr Andy Hughes, Director of Hughes Training Group Pty Ltd.
“Workplace safety training for both new recruits and experienced drivers should be a top priority,” said Senator Sterle. “This is especially urgent given that there have already been six truck-related fatalities during the first six days of this month!”
Raising Australia’s training and licensing standards is a complex issue that spans multiple portfolio areas. It’s an issue of vocational education and training, workforce development, workplace safety, public transport, and the road freight transport sector.
Mr Hughes stresses that while elevating standards across these areas is essential, there’s a significant workforce skills gap regarding qualified heavy vehicle driver trainers who are professional road safety educators. “There is a real need for experienced mentors who not only understand the industry but also possess the skills to effectively facilitate the learning process,” he explained.
Our road freight and public transport industry sectors face chronic workforce shortages. Addressing these gaps is vital for both economic stability and safety. High-quality training programs reflect an understanding of industry needs and underscore the importance of training to protect all road users.
While large companies can afford to invest in driver training and onboarding procedures to improve retention, most transport businesses are small operations with fewer than five trucks, and their margins are tight. Smaller transport operators often lack the resources for comprehensive induction and safety training for new recruits.
Although raising the bar for license upgrades and increases in the amount of supervised training hours have been topics of discussion for years, progress has been slow. Developing qualification pathways has been talked about many times. If the idea got up it would help professionalise the road transport workforce, improve training completion rates, and make the industry more appealing to younger workers, women, and individuals from underrepresented groups.
“The question remains,” said Mr Hughes, Director of Hughes Training Group based in Queanbeyan, NSW: “who will train the trainers? Any positive steps toward raising training standards and licensing requirements will provide positive road safety outcomes but will also expose a shortage of qualified heavy vehicle trainers and associated skills capacity.”
“Driver training is a road safety issue,” Mr Hughes said. “Better-trained driving instructors lead to safer drivers—and ultimately, safer roads for everyone.” He highlighted that experienced drivers could enhance their instructional skills through Training 4 Road Safety™ (TRS) – an industry-focussed program specifically designed for upskilling heavy vehicle driver trainers. TRS is an integrated learning system with a flexible and compliant framework of clear training modules.
Transport businesses can benefit by partnering with dedicated heavy vehicle trainer-educators and leveraging TRS training materials to build in-house expertise. Smaller companies, in particular, could strengthen their internal training team capacity, upskill current drivers, and provide in-depth onboarding for new recruits to help them survive across Australia’s extensive road network.
“We need to identify and inspire exceptional individuals who not only understand the industry but also possess the skills to train new entrants effectively,” said Mr Hughes. He emphasised the importance of collaboration to cultivate experienced truck operators into skilled educators.
If you share the vision outlined in this release, and are committed to building a stronger, safer, heavy vehicle trainer workforce, please reach out at the contact details below to get involved. “Hughes Training Group and its’ road safety partners are keen to reduce road trauma and save lives through better driver trainer education. After all, road safety starts at the steering wheel,” Mr Andy Hughes, Director of Hughes Training Group Pty Ltd.
Quotes attributable to Senator Glenn Sterle (ALP Western Australia)
“Prioritising driver education underscores a company’s commitment to road safety through higher training standards.”
“Workplace safety training for both new recruits and experienced drivers should be a top priority. This is especially urgent given that there have already been six truck-related fatalities during the first six days of this month!”
Quotes attributable to Andy Hughes, Director of Hughes Training Group Pty Ltd:
“Road safety starts at the steering wheel.”
“Driver training is fundamentally a road safety issue.”
“A large percentage of heavy vehicle-related incidents are due to human error: distraction, speeding, impatience, poor fatigue management, and a lack of situational awareness. These are all factors that can be fatal for an unwary operator.”
“Any investment in helping transport businesses build driver training capacity and increase road safety awareness is money well spent – it is ultimately an investment in saving lives.”
“Establishing nationally consistent training standards and raising licensing benchmarks would be a crucial step toward improving road safety. But we need to inspire those unique individuals with the passion and dedication to become professional truck driver trainers – to help fill the training gaps.”
