Melbourne has some of the most dense traffic routes Down Under, and it is one of the most important hubs of the trucking industry. Heavy Rigid Vehicles are the most common class of truck used for transportation and logistics for manufacturing companies. While heavy machinery or automobiles are transported on Heavy Combination and Multi Combination trucks across Australia; Heavy Combination class trucks are modified to transport cargo like food products, live animals, FMCG retail goods, agriculture supplies, and electronics over shorter distances. This is why HR truck driving jobs in Melbourne are mostly carried out by permanently employed drivers with HR Class permits and the necessary experience.
To earn an HR Class permit, a driver must have driven a Light Rigid Vehicle for at least a year, and a Medium Rigid Vehicle for at least another 2. However, there is an acute shortage of employment for drivers with new HR permits because they fall into a middle category. One of the chief demerits of HR truck driving jobs is that a new licensee is not experienced enough to earn the higher pay structure; and there are few independent contracts at this Permit Class. The professional drivers who have just gained their HR permits still have to work under a similar pay scale as Medium Rigid drivers.
While the HR Class permits are a midway between driving short urban routes and long haul trucks; there are several advantages to having an HR License. Here are some notable merits of having a professional HR Class permit in Australia -
(a) You can learn and find work driving articulated buses, which are becoming popular passenger vehicles across many cities in Australia.
(b) HR drivers are often employed under direct company payrolls, and hence have benefits like housing, health, and insurance by their employers.
(c) Many HR truck driving jobs in Melbourne are under direct government employment sectors like Agriculture, Livestock Farming, Mining, and other State Industries.
(d) If you have an HR Class permit, and show the necessary continued work experience for just a year or two; you can upgrade to an HC Class permit, which involves a considerable pay hike.
