A group of Western Australian truckies have countered the push by the ATA to bring in heavy vehicle operators on 457 visas.

The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) said in a recent submission to the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency that an urgent shortage of heavy vehicle operators could be addressed by including the job on the list of skills required to apply to migrate to Australia.

However, the Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls (PHHG) say the industry needs more time, training and mentoring to tackle the shortages for the long term.

Chair of the PHHG, Heather Jones, is a 20 year vetern of haulage and heavy vehicles. Jones says interest in the jobs and appropriate skills can be found domestically, if the support mechanisms are in place to make it happen.

“This is in no way a witch hunt... our concern is we do have competent people wanting to learn, who know our road rules, can speak English clearly and it's not only that,” Ms Jones says.

“In the Pilbara we've had some really hot days in the last couple of weeks and if you've come over straight from the UK, with minimal training as far as the weather goes, you're going to keel over behind the wheel.

“We all, as an industry, have an obligation to train... wouldn't it be better to spend that training, hours and time with local people with limited experience.”

Ms Jones has personally trained around 20 drivers and says one trainee for every ten trucks would be an adequate ratio for many transport companies to take up.

There are several factors keeping Australian drivers out of the big seat, with several women from the PHHG saying it is difficult for females to land the jobs they want.

“We talk about the glass ceiling women have to break through in the business world, well I believe there's a glass bull bar that women need to break down to get into the heavy vehicle industry,” PHHG member Lyndal Denny said in a recent interview.

The ATA has conceded this point too, saying in its recent submission: “Until the lack of adequate female-friendly amenities, flexible work hours and personal safety issues involved in driving trucks are addressed, many women will not believe trucking is an attractive profession.”

Ms Denny says this is only partly correct and that in reality there are many women who fit perfectly well in the industry as it is.

“It certainly takes the right attitude but it is a very worthwhile and wonderful career path,” she said.