"Armed Forces and the Road Transport Academy": opportunities and advice for furloughed workers

(To Gianluca Celentano)
27/12/22

Are there really no drivers? The answer must take into consideration two aspects of the profession: with how much passion one does it and how much it is economically convenient to do it.

On the one hand, that of the truck driver and more generally of the driver are, as I have already pointed out, professions that require a lot of passion for driving, often giving little comfort and a lot of sacrifice in exchange.

On the other hand, in the absence of important tax exemptions, wages are in many cases questionable unless the thirteenth and fourteenth month salaries are counted in the monthly salary to which, as a trade unionist confides to me, since 2015 the severance pay can be paid in installments.

It must be said that not all companies are the same and many of the major ones have already renewed their mentality some time ago know-how to improve the working conditions of driving personnel and respond more effectively to the growing demand for the mobility of goods. Do not forget that, during the lockdown, truck drivers were considered, like the staff employed in hospitals, the "angels" who managed to make sure nothing was missing in supermarkets.

An opportunity after the leave

If at the time of the lever many higher licenses were issued inside the barracks to whoever had the job 18A, with the introduction of the professional soldier many things have changed and much more experience has been gained on heavy vehicles. Of this I am certain both the General Secretariat of Defense and National Armaments Directorate (Segredifensa) both thetrucking association (ANITA - National Association of Automotive Transport Companies).

On 22 September in Padua at Palazzo Zacco, headquarters of the Army officers' club, an agreement was signed which represents a first step in the ambitious project entitled "Armed Forces and Trucking Academy". In the presence of the deputy commander for the Territory of the Northern Operational Forces Command, General of Division Ugo Cillo, the document was signed by Franco Lunerti, head of the I department of Segredifesa together with Thomas Baumgartner, president of ANITA.

The purpose of the agreement is to guarantee the professional relocation for volunteers on leave or in service regularly enrolled in the Employment opportunities project for those who have completed their service in the Armed Forces without demerit. A procedure based on agreements with companies in the world of civil work that does not differ much from the SILD project of about ten years ago, Defense Labor Information System, the platform designed to create a network between supply and demand, facilitating the placement of Armed Forces volunteers on the labor market.

Even for non-military youth

Aspects of the ANITA convention also cover young unemployed people who have no military experience. The possibility is offered to young aspiring drivers to obtain driving qualifications and attend cqc, chronotachograph and adr courses, while holders of the truck licence, the C, will have the opportunity to obtain the extension for the trailer, the And, as well as training in the discipline of land and intermodal transport.

Among the objectives of the Academy which focuses on ex-military personnel, there may be the opportunity to improve the image of the figure of the driver of heavy vehicles, sometimes not sufficiently appreciated by public opinion.

Some advice

Maybe many readers don't know this, but I too have a main job, that of bus driver and driving instructor. Writing for me is a passion, but also a civic commitment to information. I therefore feel the duty to give some advice especially to those who are really new to the sector, a sector where you never stop learning on the road (this was always reminded me by my instructors).

The initiative between Defense and ANITA is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity, but gradually approach the world of road transport. Today's pitfalls for those who get behind the wheel of a heavy vehicle are linked to excessive and often "disrespectful" traffic towards those responsible for driving a large vehicle on the road. A very useful profession, whether we are talking about transporting goods or people. After all, in the face of some unedifying episode, one should not forget those heroes who, by placing the vehicle at a barrier in dangerous arterial roads, made the scene of a serious accident safe1,2 allowing the intervention of the rescuers and the traffic police.

In the field of land transport there are different types of transport, the refrigerator (protected temperature), cargo, car transporters, shipments, fuels and many others. Depending on the type of transport, the types of daily commitments, the start and end times of the day, the overnight stay in the cabin or the waits in the logistics centers change. With the lorry (or rather with the seesaw) years ago I had dealt with the delivery of construction machinery (with the nightmare of not finding the addresses that did not yet exist) and I had got to know many hauliers and experience the solidarity that fortunately exists in the industry. More than drivers they define themselves in no uncertain terms truck drivers, being a real profession made (remember this well) not only of driving, but of many bureaucratic procedures necessary to be able to circulate.

My advice is to start with daily local deliveries and then, before making national or international trips, understand which type of handling you are most inclined to do. For those who feel "more rustic" there is also the construction and quarry transport sector, where a truck will be assigned, perhaps a three-axle ASTRA with a 25-ton capacity and 6x6 traction, or you can opt for exceptional transport, perhaps of large infrastructures, boats, etc.

Last tip: even when driving has become your second skin, never trust a heavy vehicle.

Good job guys!

1 https://www.asaps.it/57886-_incidente_sulla_a1_camionista_eroe_salernita...

2 www.bergamonews.it/2013/09/04/si-call-ion-puriceil-camionista-eroe-del...