Elle is our newest multi-combination linehaul driver, having been supported by Visy to upgrade her truck driving licence twice over the past two years.
Elle joined Visy through the Female Driver Program in 2023 after seeing it advertised online. She was working as a veterinary nurse but wanted a role where she felt more autonomous, more in control.
“I just punched in trainee truck driver and Visy popped up, I thought—it’s a sign!”
She remembers the first time she sat in a truck.
“I knew the moment I sat in that truck that I wanted to eventually become a multi-combination linehaul driver so that I could drive road trains and b doubles.”
“It felt enormous and daunting. I wondered if I’d done the right thing but it’s been amazing.”
“I love the adrenalin of driving a big truck and hauling big loads, seeing the country and meeting new people.”
She regularly drives between our paper mills in Melbourne and Tumut, New South Wales and sees plenty of great scenery along the way.
“The Snowy Mountain Highway is very pretty— cattle, sheep, big open creeks and rivers. Those rolling hills at golden hour are just beautiful.”
She says Visy has been supportive the whole way through.
“Everyone from fleet managers to colleagues and fellow drivers have been so supportive and accommodating. I’ve had the right mix of being challenged and supported. My fellow drivers have been so lovely, they’re a great bunch of people.”
Over the next year she hopes to drive longer distances and expand the area she covers.
“I want to continue to grow my confidence and get plenty of miles under my belt—maybe drive all the way up to Brisbane. I eventually want to become an experienced, old hand.”
For people considering a career change to truck driving, she says Visy is “second to none”.
“Driving for Visy, you couldn’t pick a better business to learn from. It’s been a good balance of being pushed and giving you that support. You’re supported and given plenty of time to meet deadlines.”
