After 47 years as a pilot, Christopher Matters saw his industry dry up when the pandemic hit.
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Seeing the writing on the wall he headed for a "sea-change", stepping instead into the heavy vehicle transport industry.
Through the program, heavy vehicle licence holders will be given necessary skills in areas such as fatigue management, transport industry laws, regulations and compliance and safe manual handling.
Following this, they will be connected with employers seeking staff.
Tasmanian Transport Association president John De Bruyn said worker shortages were a significant issue, making training investment vital.
"We've been finding it increasingly difficult to find people," Mr De Bruyn said. "It's just been really tough.
"We've probably put on seven or eight people in the last few weeks... but we still need probably three or four more. And that's just us, as a business (De Bruyn's). A lot of other companies are in the same boat."
He said one of the biggest challenges was ensuring job applicants had the necessary skills under their belt as opposed to just the licence, which is only one part of the equation.
"We're really pleased (the government) is partnering with us to develop some new drivers," Mr De Bruyn said.
"There's a whole number of other skills that you need to be a professional driver, so this program focuses on giving these individuals who've already got their licence those skills to help them be successful in an exciting industry."
The HVDL Plus program is being supported by $80,000 from the state government, with infrastructure minister Michael Ferguson describing the 12-month pilot as "a great innovation".
"This industry is delivering more goods by road and rail and sea and air than ever before," Mr Ferguson said.
"I commend transport industry company De Bruyn Transport for their leadership in this space."
Michelle Harwood, executive director of the TTA, said attracting more women into the industry was also a key focus for the program, with work being done across the sector to show the pathways that exist.
"The TTA has done some fabulous projects in the past to promote the industry to women and to ensure that it is open and inviting to women," she said.
She said ensuring "champion women drivers" were visible and targeted programs would continue.
"We've got some excellent role models."