TORONTO, Ont. – Online training specialist CarriersEdge has partnered with Humber College to offer drivers the ability to obtain a college certificate without stepping foot in a classroom.

The Certificate in Small Business Management for the Trucking Industry program was announced in late June. It will allow professional drivers to take a selection of courses over the Internet on their own time and from anywhere they have Web access. The program includes the following courses: How to start a small business (Humber College); human relations (Humber); small business bookkeeping (Humber); border crossing (CarriersEdge); defensive driving (CarriersEdge); pre-trip inspections, logbooks and Hours-of-Service (CarriersEdge); cargo securement (CarriersEdge); and transportation of dangerous goods (CarriersEdge).

Mark Murrell, president of CarriersEdge, says the partnership with Humber provides a college-level education for drivers with an emphasis on the trucking industry. It’s well-suited for company drivers interested in becoming owner/operators or drivers who wish to acquire new skills and start their own business. Completion of high school is not required to enroll in the program, he noted.

“This program goes beyond safety and compliance training,” Murrell said. “This will help them become better businesspeople.”

Drivers can take the program beginning in September and be finished within a calendar year. Drivers who already have a strong knowledge of any of the topics covered by the program (such as defensive driving or cargo securement) can take an equivalent knowledge test on the subject and receive credit for the course.

“If a carrier is using CarriersEdge and putting their drivers through these courses already, a driver only needs to take the three Humber courses and they’ll qualify for the certificate,” explained Murrell. “That’s a pretty good upgrade path, especially since it can be completed in a year. It also pushes the driver to stick with the carrier if the carrier is subsidizing or reimbursing the Humber courses.”

Murrell said carriers can use the program as a tool to attract and retain drivers. Drivers aren’t likely to switch carriers while receiving additional training, he pointed out.

“It would actually be pretty cheap for a fleet to roll this out to all their drivers,” Murrell said. “In addition to having drivers that are safer and better at the business of trucking, the fleet would also have a killer recruiting and retention tool.”

For individuals, the cost of the entire program is $1,500. Individual courses can also be purchased for about $300 for Humber courses and $150 for those offered by CarriersEdge. For more information, visit www.driverquality.com or call 905-530-2430.