On a quiet Hobart street, 27-year-old learner driver Taylor Allie is behind the wheel, preparing to take the test for a provisional licence this month.But without her volunteer mentor, retiree David Laskey, in the passenger seat she said she would be at "square one" with a near empty log book.The Hobart PCYC's Learner Driver Mentor Program, in its sixth year, pairs learner drivers who cannot access a supervisor or vehicle with trained volunteer mentors for free to help them complete the hours needed to sit the test for a provisional licence.The program is currently supporting 24 learner drivers to become P-platers.But there are more than 100 young people waiting for a spot in the program, with some waiting more than a year, because of high demand and a shortage of volunteer mentors.Ms Allie, who did not have any family members to supervise her driving, waited a year for a mentor."It's been a very big barrier in my adult life So it's going to be really rewarding to finally be able to drive on my own," she said.Ms Allie hopes to pursue work in community services, but found many jobs required a driver's licence.She said having her licence would grant her freedom and remove a major barrier to employment."I'm really lucky to have found David and he's been a really cool mentor."David Laskey said he had been volunteering as a driver mentor for a year.He said he got involved to give back to the community and has helped three other learner drivers so far."I was quite shocked when my first learner driver told me that she'd been waiting for over a year," Mr Laskey said."In fact, my most recent learner driver has been waiting almost two years