Daimler joins Cummins’ heavy vehicle training initiative in Australia
Attracting the next generation of trucking industry professionals has been a well-documented issue in Australia of late, with various industry bodies undertaking initiatives to open pathways, but manufacturers are also joining the efforts.
Most recently, Daimler Truck and Bus Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Cummins South Pacific’s Technical Education for Communities (TEC) initiative.
TEC is designed to create partnerships between schools, employers and community stakeholders to support students transitioning from school to the workplace in the heavy vehicle industry.
It has a particular focus on disadvantaged areas, where quality vocational training can make a tangible difference to the community and provide much-needed opportunities to young people.
“The Cummins TEC initiative helps bring exciting new talent into our great industry and gives young people opportunities they may not previously had access to,” Daimler Australia president and CEO Daniel Whitehead says.
“This program is one of the many ways we can help make the transport field a real destination industry and encourage talented young people to consider a field that may not have been on their radar.”
Future-Ready program aims to attract youth into the trucking industry. Read more, here
The TEC program, “a ‘Certificate II’ on steroids”, according to Daimler, works with high schools that may have access to automotive programs but are not specifically focused on heavy vehicles.
It supports myriad disciplines such as administration, spare parts interpreting, warehousing and more in aspects such as safety, technical skills, employer expectations, workplace behaviour and work readiness.
TEC partners involvement centres around enabling students to work on donated components such as engines, and experience work experience at various companies, industry tours, guidance and mentoring, and apprenticeships that can lead to job opportunities.
Cummins South Pacific managing director and TEC program sponsor Steph Disher says TEC is an opportunity for industry to work together to proactively combat skills shortages while supporting communities.
“It is with companies like Daimler Truck and Bus as partners that we hope to see great job outcomes and results for the students in the project,” she adds.
Five schools around Australia (two in Brisbane and Perth and one in Melbourne) currently participate in the TEC program. Participating brands include Cummins, Daimler Truck and Bus, AHG, Komatsu, Penske Power, Paccar Dealer Network, Westrans, CJD Equipment, Bayford, Brierty, FDWA and Lindsay Transport.