OTTAWA, Ont. – Trucking HR Canada released today the proposed National Occupational Standard that will more clearly define a commercial vehicle operator’s (truck driver’s) job. The company is inviting all members of the country’s trucking industry to review the proposal and submit comments.

“The final document will offer the detailed information that can help guide training programs, ensure that graduating trainees are more employable, and better meet the trucking industry’s needs,” says Angela Splinter, CEO of Trucking HR Canada. “This project also represents an important step toward mandatory entry-level driver training, and efforts to recognize truck driving as a skilled occupation.”

The draft have been under development over the last year through the Trucking HR Canada’s Driving the Future project (supported by the Canadian Trucking Alliance and every provincial trucking association), and were overseen by a National Working Group of fleet personnel from across Canada.

According to the release Trucking HR Canada says that the drivers who meet the proposed standard will:

• Operate a straight truck or tractor-trailer with a Gross Vehicle Weight of up to 45,000 kg (100,000 lb.)
• Transport freight contained within a cargo-van-style trailer
• Handle general freight, Less-than-Truckload (LTL) or loose freight, tailgate deliveries, intercity Pickups and Deliveries (P&D), inner-city travel, and potentially heated (but non-refrigerated) loads
• Operate on urban, regional and national roads – in any terrain except mountain passes
• Operate in all types of weather. Commercial vehicle operators (truck drivers) who have yet to meet the National Occupational Standard may, at the discretion of their employer, be excluded from operating in extreme weather.

You can download the draft standard online here. Comments must be submitted by 5 p.m. (EST) on Jan. 16, 2015.