“I worked together with the driver trainers to find the right balance of time to have these pullers in the program to set them up for success.”
“I worked together with the driver trainers to find the right balance of time to have these pullers in the program to set them up for success.”
Runner to Driver is the latest in our fast growing list of programs aimed at fast tracking our operations employees while addressing driver shortage.
“The program came about when I started working on all of the recruitment for Municipal. We had so many driver vacancies available but were getting a limited amount of applicants,” says Runner to Driver program director Melissa Giudes Campbell.
“However, for a bin puller role we can attract more applicants. So I had a thought to upskill our current high performing bin pullers and then back fill the bin puller roles. That way we keep our teams motivated for career progression and also add to our workforce of drivers.”
In late November, several runners from our Sydney Municipal business unit signed up for a spot in the Runner to Driver program which is geared towards transforming them into Cleanaway drivers in just five days.
The program starts in the classroom covering mandatory Cleanaway modules, followed by three days of practical driving with our trainers.
The final day of the program is allocated to the runners completing their (HVCBA) with a registered training organisation. This culminates in the runners receiving their Heavy Rigid (HR) licences.
Pictured: Melissa posing with the Runner to Driver program’s trainers and recruits for Week 1 (left) and Week 2 (right).
Three of our runners began their journeys in Week 1: David Lansdell and Makai Hannon from our Hillsdale depot and Brad Hokin from our Glendenning depot.
Pictured from left to right: Brad with Driver Trainer and Assessor Mick Joliffe, David with Driver Trainer and Assessor Jason Gardner, Makai with Driver Trainer and Assessor Anthony King.
As the first batch completed their training, four other runners started the program in Week 2: Peter Weatherly and Bradley Moore from our Glendenning depot and Jaime Encenarial and William Robertson from our Peakhurst depot.
Pictured from left to right: Bradley, Peter, William and Jaime and their driver trainers are all smiles during the practical driving sessions.
Pictured: Senior Education Officer Charlotte Landini presents a session on where waste goes and how contamination can be reduced in our municipal bins.
Pictured: Driver Trainer and Assessor Adam Pascoe teaches the class how to properly tie knots and secure chains.
Melissa adds, “Putting our bin pullers into the drivers seat means they already know the council contract, the runs and those tricky and tight streets. All of that needs some extra attention that may take a new Cleanaway driver a long time to learn.”
“I worked together with the driver trainers to find the right balance of time to have these pullers in the program to set them up for success.”
Pictured: Brad (left) and Makai (right) posing proudly with their newly acquired HR licences which they received at the end of their training.
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