Truck drivers risk losing jobs to self-driving vehicles

More than 400,000 transport jobs are at high risk of being replaced by connected and self-driving vehicles, a new report warns.

The impact of transport technology on jobs could begin as soon as three years' time, the study by Swinburne University and the iMove Co-operative Research Centre has found.

The report released on Thursday said the rising popularity of electric vehicles would end some roles while creating new ones, and recommended governments invest into closing digital skills gaps in the transport workforce. 

The recommendations come one week after the federal government released its National Electric Vehicle Strategy, which outlined electric vehicle training opportunities.

The Creating Our Future Transport and Mobility Workforce report found 18 roles within the industry had a high chance of being disrupted by autonomous and connected transport.

These include the country's 412,000 heavy truck and delivery drivers, bus drivers, railroad conductors, locomotive engineers, and workers involved in shipping and freight.

Author and Swinburne University future urban mobility professor Hussein Dia said self-driving and connected vehicles could affect some of these positions before 2025.

"With automated trucks, we could start to feel the impacts within a few years," he said.

"In the US, a lot of people who operate trucks on industrial locations like mines and construction sites are losing their jobs due to automation."

Long-haul truck drivers could take between 15 to 20 years to be affected by cheaper autonomous transport, the report found, and electric trucks would also impact manufacturing and maintenance roles.

But Professor Dia said the adoption of electric vehicles in particular would create new employment opportunities in different fields and could actually add 13,400 roles in Australia if companies rose to the challenge.

"Although technology is going to impact jobs, it will not eliminate work," he said.

"There's still going to be work that needs to be done and we can transition those impacted to higher quality jobs, higher paying jobs."

Additional jobs required in the transport sector by 2034 would include software developers, data engineers, integrators and scientists, robotics and mechatronics engineers, and process improvement managers, the report said.

Ian Christensen, managing director of the iMove Co-operative Research Centre, said the report proved Australian businesses and governments need to invest in retraining transport workers and preparing for a technology-fuelled transformation.

"This research has uncovered a critical challenge," Mr Christensen said.

"Seventy per cent of employees felt unprepared for the digital transport skills of the future and nearly half of surveyed organisations acknowledged a significant digital transport skills gap that needs to be overcome."

The report proposed the creation of a national Office of Future Transport Technology to oversee grants and training programs.

It also recommended federal and state governments create standards for digital training programs, introduce tax credits for work-based learning programs, and research "next-generation training models" for the transport workforce.