New Wagga TAFE program to address truck mechanic shortage

The new training hub at Wagga TAFE has been developed in partnership with Penske Australia, the distributor of Western Star Trucks.

Practice on specific models will give apprentices a two-for-one from their studies - a Certificate III in Commercial Heavy Vehicle Mechanical Technology, and critical experience repairing Western Star trucks.

Graduating mechanics will already have significant Western Star experience, improving efficiency in Penske's workshops, and safety outcomes for truckers.

While most studies say driver error is the primary cause of truck crashes, maintenance issues remain a danger to drivers. In 2019, there were six heavy vehicle fatalities attributed to poor maintenance.

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TAFE NSW teacher Justin Haddrill said he hoped this program would prevent things like this from happening in the future.

"The unique element of this program is they'll actually be working on their own product - the same things they work on on a daily basis," he said.

"The biggest thing at the moment is safety ... It's fix right first time visits, so less downtime for the customers and the product, and they'll drive down the highway trouble free.

"Every day we see truck fatalities, and we want to minimise that with this product specific training."

Numerous reports over the last few years have said Australia's fragile supply chains will challenge food security and local economies in the near future. While the primary drivers of this are future risks from floods and fires, and current skills shortages, equipment and infrastructure shortages play a part too.

With trucks still the primary driver of most of Australia's freight, off road time translates almost directly into delays on everything from food at the supermarket, to personal post deliveries.

Penske's Western Star Training Manager Russell Koch said the partnership would be highly beneficial in making sure their apprentices were job ready.

"It's common knowledge there's a skill shortage out there at the moment, and programs like this are definitely helping that," he said.

"The teachers here are highly enthusiastic. They are trade qualified, not only in a basic trade, but our products as well.

"Normally when they [students] enter an apprenticeship, they do generic modules ... so this to us is huge benefit in the familiarity they get.

First year apprentice Chloe Raynes is one of a growing number of young women entering traditionally male dominated trades. Her love of mechanics started with working on cars with her dad when she was younger.

Ms Raynes said the relevance of the program to her future career made it interesting to study, and gave her more confidence she would be ready to enter the workforce as a heavy diesel mechanic.

"It's something that's always interested me from a young age ... trucks are something that's different, but you can also relate it to working on cars," she said.

"At work at the moment, there's only two of us girls, but it's honestly amazing to see more girls coming through and wanting to step up.

"I think women can be a big asset to a heavy diesel team, and employees are looking for women - it's a good look as well."

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