You often hear people say, “those who can’t do, teach,” whether it’s a joke or an insult, well, sometimes you just can’t tell.
When Ashleigh Anderson learnt how to drive a truck, she remembers someone giving her that same advice.
Instead of taking this to heart, she considered this suggestion and decided to create her very own truck training business.
Ashleigh joined the transport world about ten years ago when a retail job just wasn’t cutting it.
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“My partner at the time drove fuel tankers and he got sick of me coming home and whinging about how much retail sucks,” she laughs.
“So, he booked me a truck driving lesson, and that was it, I was hooked.”
However, when it came time to return to work as a mother, Ashleigh discovered there were no jobs available that had the right opening hours to allow her to continue her role in the family as a primary carer.
“My husband is a FIFO worker and is away two weeks out of three, I could no longer start work at 1am or 4am, I had to find something else.”
The potentially insulting suggestion of teaching heavy vehicles drivers instead of getting behind the wheel then came to the surface, where now Ashleigh’s career is thriving.
Noticing a disconnect between the trainers from an older generation and the new crop of drivers was vast, Ashleigh saw an opportunity.
“I realised there was a major lack of quality trainers, and the average instructors were a lot older than me,” she says.
Her typical day consists of teaching people how to navigate the open roads behind the big wheel as they train to achieve their heavy rigid (HR) license.
Ashleigh says she would also like to help people achieve their multi-combination (MC) licenses; however she has to go through a process of government approvals before she will be able to do that.
Back before the opening of her truck training school, Deals on Wheels first reached out to Ashleigh because her Facebook page ‘Her Truck Training’ initially captivated our attention.
Her Truck Training was a social media engagement page run by Ashleigh, offering support to students and encouraging people to enter the transport industry.
Ashleigh wanted to build a community through her page, rather than introducing a new product or service, but this year everything changed, and she opened her ‘Dynamic Truck School’ with a flashy pink 2017 MAN TGS truck she named ‘Bubblegum Bandit’.
When asked about her bright choice of colour Ashleigh simply explains that “pink just works”.
“When I started work as an instructor, I found these pink work shirts at Kmart and they were so lightweight and cool, I immediately loved them and started wearing them constantly,” she says.
“The pink became an ‘Ashleigh the instructor’ thing, with the pink Yeti cup, the pink bag and pink branding on my Facebook page, the colour really does grab people’s attention.”
What started as a personal style choice quickly became her trademark and Ashleigh embraced her signature colour with pride, eventually wrapping her truck to be as bold and vibrant as her.
But it’s not all just fun and pink trucks. Ashleigh faces plenty of challenges in an industry mainly populated by men.
“Under five per cent of truck drivers are women in Australia and I only know two who have an instructor’s qualification,” she says.
“On top of that, the degrading comments I get because people believe I shouldn’t be teaching students how to drive a truck, as they assume I have no experience is just sad. I’m very much qualified and able.”
With a high pass rate and positive feedback, Ashleigh says her training speaks for itself.
“As an instructor, I don’t have any requirement to tell my students about a work diary, if I didn’t tell them, they’d go to the transport department, pass their test, and then leave,” she says.
“The Transport Department also doesn’t have any liability to tell them they need one, or teach them how to use it or what to do with it, until they get to their first job.”
“A lot of the time, these employers won’t even spend the time to teach them how to use it, so these people are going in blind.”
“To stop this from happening, I have a work diary hours counter, so every 15 minutes from midnight until midday, is a starting time with their first, second and third break when it would need to be done.”
Beyond teaching from the passenger seat of a truck, Ashleigh’s commitment to her students is what sets her apart.
“I have so much pride and joy for my students that when they send me a picture of themselves at their new job, it chokes me up.”
She advises young truckies not to be disheartened when asking questions and receiving a negative response, as there are always people in the industry willing to help out.
“I think a lot of people look down at younger drivers because they think we have it easier, I think they should view it in a whole different light though and instead think how lucky the next generation are to not have to suffer as much as they did.”
To help Ashleigh continue her contribution to the industry, she was recently presented with a $1,600 scholarship from Transport Women Australia, sponsored by Daimler to pursue another qualification in a Double Diploma in Logistics and Leadership and Management.
“I felt a bit of imposter syndrome winning that,” Ashleigh admits.
“I try to do the best I can, and I know sometimes I can go above and beyond. I am a chronic helper, particularly to those in this industry.”
One example of this attitude is Ashleigh’s free work diary workshops, held in person or live-streamed that she says provides an opportunity for drivers, or want-to-be drivers, to wrap their head around the administrative side of truck driving.
Through her work, Ashleigh is redefining what it means to be a truckie and a trainer.
Whether it be behind the wheel of Bubblegum Bandit or leading the next generation of drivers, Ashleigh is sure to continue to make waves in transport.
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