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Subsidy for MC licence course to begin this month

A Queensland Government initiative that subsidises the cost of obtaining a multi-combination (MC) licence will begin this month

July 4, 2012

A Queensland Government initiative that subsidises the cost of obtaining a multi-combination (MC) licence will begin this month.

Aimed at plugging a skills gap in the trucking industry, the $1 million Transition program will cover 85 percent of the cost of going through an MC licence course.

Training courses will begin for up to 400 entrants throughout the state from July 16 and will run through to February 18 next year. Operators can nominate employees to participate.

Participants must have at least a heavy rigid (HR) unrestricted licence and be an Australian citizen or resident living in Queensland.

The Queensland Government says the course will show drivers how to follow occupational health and safety standards, apply fatigue management strategies, load and unload vehicles, complete workplace documentation, inspect vehicles and secure cargo.

“At the completion of this course, an individual should have accumulated additional skills to drive multi-combination vehicles like road trains and B-double vehicles,” the government says.

“The program is targeted at addressing the need for additional bus and truck drivers across Queensland as well as meeting the increasing demand from industry for multi-combination drivers.”

The government says the MC licence course can cost up to $2,500, meaning employers will need to fork out $375 as part of their commitment to pay 15 percent of the cost.

Participants must be able to show they have held an unrestricted HR licence or heavy combination (HC) licence for a minimum of one year. They will also need to show an extract of their driver traffic history and a receipt for a heavy vehicle road rules test.

Applicants need to provide their contact details and a resume outlining their work history, skills and references.

The Queensland Government has a website on the Transition program.

Those interested in taking part in the program need to contact the government and leave their phone number and a list of names and position titles of staff to be nominated.

The first course will begin at Innisfail on July 16, with Toowoomba, Rockhampton and Ipswich all running courses on July 30.

Townsville and Yatala will be next on August 27, followed by Morayfield on October 22.

Three more courses will be run early next year, with Bundaberg first off on January 21. Yatala and Morayfield will each host another course on February 18.

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