It might be a bit premature to call it a movement, but there’s some interest percolating out there in establishing apprenticeship programs for new drivers. Simply, the shortage of qualified drivers is now costing the industry money, so we’re seeing some imaginative solutions.

The idea of putting a new driver alongside an experienced driver is nothing new –it happens every day — but many of those initiatives go unrecognized because there’s neither a formal curriculum for the student, nor any approved credentials for the trainer. Some work well, but I’ve heard stories that would curl your hair about “students” being kept out on the road for weeks at a time with no pay, other than maybe a paltry meal allowance. Some run full team operations in which the trainer sleeps while the student drives. There’s not much learning going on there, I’ll wager, just free labour.

On the other hand, there’s a program in Nova Scotia that works quite well. It’s a partnership between the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC) “Earning Your Wheels” program and two good schools that I know of (there may be more). In these cases, students get four weeks of in-cab guidance with a trained mentor or coach after they earn their licence. It’s understood by the school, the carrier, the driver/mentor, and the student that learning takes precedence over productivity.

They run single mileage, and with all the coaching that goes on – trip planning, backing up, etc. – the loads might actually take longer to deliver than normal. So there’s a cost to the program.

There’s structure to this program, too, though it’s unregulated. It’s called an internship rather than an apprenticeship. The result may be the same, but there are great hurdles to overcome in establishing similar programs in other jurisdictions, largely because of the use of the word “apprenticeship”.

Traditional apprenticeship programs are regulated by provincial ministries of education. Think in terms of plumbers or mechanics: the apprentice works under an experienced hand, learning the trade as he or she earns a modest living with basic skills. The programs can last from several months to several years.
Some provinces (this is Canada, remember, so it’s different anywhere you go) have rules preventing employers from having apprentices do revenue-producing work without pay. Trucking, for some odd reason, seems to think it’s a reasonable trade-off that a student be willing to forego a pay cheque for several weeks.

But there’s a group in Ontario now trying to establish an “unrestricted” apprenticeship program for new drivers. So far they’re working directly with the Ministry of Education and Training. The three carriers involved in the preliminary discussions — MacKinnon Transport, TST Truckload Express, and Schneider National Carriers, led by Kim Richardson of KRTS Transportation Solutions — all recognize that driver training and development are investments, not costs.
Each of these carriers, and more of them not mentioned here, are prepared to invest a few thousand dollars to bring newly licensed drivers up to industry standards, rather than complaining about the lack of qualified applicants.

Many supporters of this plan are already running their own programs. And all can afford to pay the trainers and the students (anywhere from $300/week to $16.00/hour) for their learning time, because they’re in revenue-producing situations rather than driving around loaded with dunnage.

Their training curricula differ slightly, as do the final standards, but the group is working on a formalized program to ensure the students are well trained and qualified for real-world work when they finish.
This is a win-win-win situation. I heartily applaud these organizations for taking the lead on this issue and I hope it catches on in other provinces.