OTTAWA, Ont. The Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC) is launching a program that will examine the workforce of the trucking industry.

Working alongside stakeholders from labor groups, carriers and various levels of government, the CTHRC will study the human resources side of the industry.

Phase 1, called Canada’s Driving Force, is now underway. It will assess driver supply, turnover and employment conditions as well as Canada’s future needs in terms of the trucking industry workforce.

Based on the findings of Phase 1, a retention, recruitment and training strategy will be developed to help meet the needs of the Canadian trucking industry in the short and mid-term future.

Phase 1 involves five research projects, which are currently being undertaken by contracted consultants. Over the next 10 months, they will research: the differences and commonality of licensing in various jurisdictions; the reasons causing licensed drivers not to drive; the number and characteristics of driver training schools; the information on driver training and assistance programs that are available; a profile of the current and future employment needs and turnover rates expected within the industry.

“Canada must have an adequate supply of drivers to serve domestic needs and remain competitive internationally,” says Linda Gauthier, managing director of the CTHRC. “There are definite issues to resolve and we must fully understand them to create solutions.”

Phase 2 of the program will commence next spring, and it will involve developing recruitment and retention strategies and ways of replenishing the industry’s workforce.

Once the issue is better understood and some answers begin to emerge from this study, the program will then focus on taking aggressive action to attract and retain an adequate supply of drivers for the trucking industry, the CTHRC says.

Human Resources Development Canada is providing some funding for the program, and trucking groups such as the Canadian Trucking Alliance, the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, Teamsters and provincial trucking associations have agreed to help.

The first report is called the Survey of Canadian Commercial Vehicle Driver Licensing Requirements, and it’s expected to be released in December. It will examine and compare provincial and territorial licence requirements.