OTTAWA (May 7) — Calling it the most under-rated position in trucking, Bruce Richards chairs a committee of the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council that aims to develop an industry-approved training program for dispatchers. The CTHRC has done the same for drivers.

Richards, president of the Private Motor Truck Council, heads a steering committee made up of representatives from the trucking and education communities. In the next couple of months they’ll be organizing focus groups of dispatchers and carriers across the country to help develop a national occupational standard. The work, some of which has already been done in a preliminary way, involves identifying typical position requirements and essential skills. The creation of a training course will follow.

He says the national occupational standard will be finished by the end of the summer, and he’s looking for volunteer dispatchers to fill focus group places in Moncton, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.

For more information, call 905/827-0587.