The Victorian Government is pouring an extra $1m into training more truck drivers, in partnership with the Victorian Transport Association.
The funding is in support of the VTA’s heavy-vehicle driver delivery program, which offers accredited training for aspiring truckies and helps graduates find jobs with reputable transport companies.
The program hopes to attract and retain younger drivers, in a bid to address driver shortages and keep critical transport and logistics supply chains moving.
The VTA’s heavy vehicle driver delivery program has delivered and placed nearly 400 drivers on the roads since 2016.
The partnership between the state government and the VTA follows the success of the 2023 Freight Industry Training for Jobseekers project, which facilitated jobs for more than 125 people in freight and warehousing.
“This partnership will see more Victorians get skilled up and behind the wheel to keep our state’s multi-billion-dollar freight industry moving,” said Victorian minister for ports and freight, Melissa Horne.
Transport Workers Union Branch assistant secretary Mem Suleyman said the union also supports the program.
“Skilled driver shortages in the transport industry is affecting our members who are under constant pressure to deliver around the clock and on time.”
Victoria’s wider freight industry contributes $21 billion annually to the state’s economy and employs more than 260,000 Victorians.
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