When we talk about workforce shortages in road freight, the conversation often returns to one issue: drivers.

That focus is understandable. Professional truck drivers are fundamental to our industry, and attracting, developing and retaining skilled drivers remains one of our biggest workforce priorities.

But if we define the transport workforce challenge primarily through the lens of driving roles, we risk overlooking the much broader capability our industry will need in the future.

QTA CEO Gary Mahon said the industry needed to continue elevating professional driving as a skilled and respected career, while also broadening the way transport careers were promoted.

“Professional drivers are absolutely critical to our industry. We need more of them, and we need to provide better pathways for people to develop the skills and experience required to build a long-term career behind the wheel,” Mr Mahon said.

“But there is also an enormous workforce behind every truck on the road. We need to become much better at showing people just how many different careers are available across freight transport.”

Modern transport businesses need people planning loads, allocating vehicles, maintaining equipment, managing customers, improving safety and compliance, controlling costs and making increasingly sophisticated operational decisions.

They also need data analysts who can identify productivity opportunities, technology specialists who understand telematics, fleet systems and automation, engineers, mechanics and technicians, schedulers, finance professionals, HR practitioners, safety specialists and future business leaders.

Increasingly, freight transport is also becoming a technology and data-driven industry.

“The skills we need are changing,” Mr Mahon said.

“We need smart thinkers and problem-solvers who can look at data and find efficiencies, understand emerging technology, improve productivity and help businesses make better decisions. A young person interested in technology, engineering, business or analytics should be able to look at freight transport and see a career opportunity.”

The challenge is making sure they know those opportunities exist.

Industry needs to invest more time in building relationships with school career advisers, universities, vocational education providers and industry schools. Educators need a practical understanding of the jobs available, the skills employers need and the career pathways that can develop over time.

Importantly, young people also need opportunities to experience the industry before being expected to choose it. Young people should not be expected to make informed career decisions about an industry they have never experienced. Providing meaningful opportunities to see, try and participate in real workplaces can help challenge outdated perceptions and give students a clearer understanding of what a career in transport and logistics can look like.

This is one of the areas being addressed through the Queensland Trucking Association’s Transport Workforce Futures strategy.

A new school-to-workplace pilot is being developed to provide senior secondary students with structured industry-based learning, vocational training and meaningful workplace experience across transport and supply chain operations to give students a clearer understanding of what a career in transport and logistics can look like.

Other programs currently being offered include the QTA Driving Futures Program providing skill set training and a license entry pathway for new entrants, while the Heavy Vehicle Safe Driver Program offers employers a wage subsidy to enable newly licensed drivers to be mentored by an experienced driver to get critical supervised on-road experience

Participants can then progress towards Queensland’s Heavy Vehicle Driver Apprenticeship and Certificate III in Driving Operations.

“A licence is an entry point. It should not be viewed as the completion of a driver’s professional development,” Mr Mahon said.

“We need structured pathways that give new drivers the experience, knowledge and confidence to become safe and capable professional drivers.”

There is another workforce issue that deserves greater attention: developing our future business owners and leaders.

Many emerging leaders have outstanding operational knowledge, but running a modern transport business requires increasingly sophisticated commercial capability.

Financial literacy, cashflow management, pricing, contracts, workforce planning, governance, risk management, technology investment and strategic decision-making are essential skills.

“We have some very capable next-generation leaders coming through our industry, particularly within family and privately owned businesses,” Mr Mahon said.

“We need to invest in their business education as much as we invest in operational capability. Stronger business skills build stronger businesses, and ultimately a more resilient industry.”

The broader challenge is ensuring transport can compete for workers against sectors with highly visible career pathways and significant government investment in training, including construction and traditional trades.

A targeted, nationally coordinated approach is needed to develop clearer pathways from schools, vocational education and universities into freight transport.

The industry also has a role to play.

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We need to stop thinking only about filling vacancies and start thinking about building capability.

That means continuing to invest in professional drivers while opening the industry more deliberately to analysts, technicians, engineers, managers, technology specialists, safety professionals and future business owners.

As Mr Mahon puts it: “Our workforce challenge is not simply about finding more people. It is about attracting the right skills, developing people properly and showing them that freight transport is an industry where they can build a rewarding, long-term career.”

For more information on the QTA programs visit here https://www.qta.com.au/projects or get in touch with the Transport Workforce Future’s team, visit https://www.transportworkforcefutures.com.au/

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