Western Australia opens new truck training facility in Hazelmere

Western Australia has opened a new bespoke truck training facility at the North Metropolitan TAFE Hazelmere campus in Perth. The facility is designed to mirror real-world workplace conditions, featuring heavy rigid trucks, forklift equipment, and purpose-built road training areas to develop driving and maneuvering skills.

The Heavy Vehicle Driving Operations course aims to train up to 170 students annually. The program offers fee-free education, potentially saving students up to $356 per enrolment, and provides training for Heavy Rigid, Heavy Combination, and Multi Combination licences. The initiative seeks to address significant labor shortages in the transport and logistics sectors; national unfilled truck driver positions were reported at 28,000 in 2024, with projections suggesting this could reach 78,000 by 2029.

Forty students have already begun training at the site. The project is a partnership between North Metropolitan TAFE and Keen Bros, and has received endorsement from the Western Australia Transport Industry Association.