General News
24 July, 2023
Superviser driver volunteers desperately needed
The Central Goldfields TAC L2P program is in need of more supervisors to help young people learn to drive, with around 50 currently on the wait list to access the program. L2P helps young learner drivers who don’t have a supervising driver or...
The Central Goldfields TAC L2P program is in need of more supervisors to help young people learn to drive, with around 50 currently on the wait list to access the program.
L2P helps young learner drivers who don’t have a supervising driver or a vehicle complete the 120 hours of driving experience required before taking their licence test.
It’s a program that has supported dozens of local youth gain their licence over the years and is something volunteer mentor Isla Douglas said is highly rewarding.
“I always think it’s important that you give back if you’ve got spare time,” she said.
“Getting your licence is something that opens up so many avenues for education, employment, accessibility to go places and a general sense of freedom and it’s really rewarding to see young people come through, gain confidence driving and get their licence at the end of it.
“It’s a great program that gives young people opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have.”
The local L2P program currently has five volunteer driving supervisors, with some 50 young people on a wait list to access the service.
Among those who have benefitted from the program is 21-year-old Taylar Whittingslow who at first didn’t have an interest in driving, but is now ready to go for her licence.
“My confidence with driving is so much better than it was at the start of this program, I didn’t want to drive at first,” she said.
“The supervising drivers are great, you get to know them pretty well through the program and for me it’s been easy driving with the volunteer supervisors.
“My parents both work full time so I hardly get to be in the car with them, this program made getting my hours and practice up much easier.”
To tackle the growing wait list of young people, L2P coordinator Audrey Bartlett said the program would ideally need another 15 volunteers.
“Ideally we would need 20 volunteers and we have five at the moment,” she said.
“In saying that we ran a training day last week and got another two volunteers to sign up and we’re now holding mentor training monthly to try and attract that interest.
“We have about 50 kids on the wait list, it’s not the biggest waiting list in the state but it’s certainly up there.”
Supervising drivers are required to give one hour of their time a week to the program, but this can be more if volunteers choose.
To qualify as a volunteer mentor, you need to:
• Hold a full Victorian driver’s licence
• Have an interest in helping young people
• Complete a Working with Children’s Check and Police Check
• Complete a Driver History Report.
Ms Bartlett said the most important requirement was a positive attitude and willingness to teach.
“I think the most important requirement though is a positive attitude to work with young people,” she said.
“These are people who want to learn and they want to learn the right way, we just have to support them.”
To find out more and to register contact Audrey on 0418 536 517 or email audreyb@cgoldshire.vic. gov.au