Fleet News Group’s podcast host Caroline Falls chats via Skype to truck industry stalwart and advocate Jacquelene Brotherton as she drives to an appointment (We mention that because the sound quality is a bit bumpy). They talk about the ups and downs in the industry, covering staff shortages, Scott’s transport group’s collapse, concern about sustainability, shifts to improve regulation, appreciation of drivers, and acknowledgement of professionalism in the industry.
Brotherton grew up out the back of Burke where she met her future friends and bosses in the transport industry. Today she wears several hats, including chair of the Transport Women Australia Ltd, which brings together women from every facet of the industry — drivers, administrators, etcetera — for mentoring, networking, training and awards.
“My passion for advocacy in the industry started back then in the early 1970s and continues now 50 years later,” said Brotherton. “It has never waned for me.”
Transport Women Australia Ltd (TWAL) was founded in 1999 and celebrates its 25th anniversary next year. The not for profit member based organisation for women working in, or interested in working in, the industry has supported more than 240 women with scholarships to develop skills.
Daimler Truck Australia Pacific is among scholarship sponsors. TWAL has programs to train women drivers, including one that is a joint venture with Wodonga TAFE and Volvo to get women licensed to drive heavy vehicles, help them get employed in the industry and support them on their journeys.
“A lot of women that we speak to say that they haven’t considered it as a career because they didn’t see a way into the industry,” said Brotherton, adding TWAL’s initiatives have spread to schools to get the word out and show them a pathway to entry.
The word is: “That it’s a wonderful career for them, and that the sky’s the limit,” said Brotherton. “And there’s so many different roles. It’s not only about truck drivers. We’re not just short of truck drivers. We’re short of people; we’re short of operations people, we’re short of technicians, we’re short of everybody.”
Brotherton said she felt that a lot of appreciation for the industry that sprung up amid the COVID years had faded, and she’d like to see it endure.
“I just want to see a greater appreciation for our staff, for our drivers, for the people in the industry. I think that the more we appreciate them, the better our industry is going to be. I want our role models to get out there and preach the gospel of transport to everybody. I think it’s a very underrated industry. I think we need everybody to understand just how much we put into it, and how important we are to everybody. And I think that we really, really have to find that appreciation for these people that give it their all.”
