How much training is needed to make a fledgling truck driver worth hiring? It’s a question that’s been around for as long as there have been trucks. But in recent years some real progress has been made in setting qualifications and developing comprehensive recommended course content for driving schools to adopt.

In fact, there’s more choice than ever. And that’s a challenge, especially for trainers and fleet managers who would like to see a single, nationally accredited training standard for truck drivers. Today, there are two major organizations certifying A/Z-licenced driver-training programs in Canada.

The most established here is the Ottawa-based Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council, formed in 1993 by the then-Canadian Trucking Association, the Private Motor Truck Council, the Teamsters, the Canadian Auto Workers, and the Com Car Owner Operators Association. To date, the CTHRC has certified 18 schools to teach its curriculum. Those schools cover 23 different locations across Canada.

The second group is the Professional Truck Driver Institute, headquartered in Alexandria, Va. (the “of America” was dropped from the original name last year when the organization began to certify schools in Canada). Founded in 1986, the PTDI has certified 41 schools across North America, but only two in Canada.

Accreditation is important to both groups for three key reasons.

First, both believe that accreditation makes qualified entry-level drivers easier for prospective employers to spot. Employers should expect graduates of an accredited program to be able to come into a company that has its own in-house training and, with coaching, make the transition quickly into a productive, competent professional.

Second, accreditation should rid the training industry of its shadiest operators. In theory, fleets will want to hire the best-trained driver candidates and not products of the so-called licensing mills-schools that offer just enough training to pass the provincial exam, or truckers who see training as a way to make money with run-down equipment.

And third, schools pay a fee to become accredited and periodically re-certified. Attaining certification by either body can cost from $2000 to $5000, and involve considerable paperwork and a multi-day audit. Re-certification typically occurs at three-year intervals.

STANDARDS ISSUES

What can you expect from a driver who’s accredited to CTHRC or PTDI standards? It should be noted that CTHRC and PTDI offer minimum training standards only, and some schools exceed them with their own homegrown instructional packages. In most cases, though, the CTHRC and PTDI program represents a more demanding, more intensive, and more lengthy course, and cost versus perceived “hireability” often determines whether a student chooses to sign up. Why a guy should pay for more training than he needs in order to get a job is a question that has been difficult for schools and the two groups to address.

While an in-depth discussion of each group’s certification criteria is beyond the scope of this short overview, here are some basic points:

CTHRC: Promoted under the title “Earning Your Wheels,” the CTHRC’s curriculum requires a minimum 60 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction, one-on-one with an instructor (two other student drivers might also observe from the tractor’s sleeper, although these hours don’t count towards the 60). It also entails 100 classroom hours, 25 hours driving in a yard, and an optional but recommended 300 hours of “supervised workplace experience”-the first 140 driving hours to be while teamed with a veteran driver “coach”-at the commercial fleet who’s hired them.

That’s less than when Earning Your Wheels was introduced in 1994, when the course syllabus called for 100 hours of one-on-one on-road training. This factor and other requirements drove tuition costs through the roof. Certified schools had to price Earning Your Wheels much higher than their existing course-not to mention competitors’. Fees of $12,000 weren’t unheard of, compared to a typical range of $3000 to $5000.

In early 1997, the CTHRC changed the curriculum to allow a lower total cost, and now participating schools can offer the program at something around $6000. Pricing is up to each school, however, and is not set by the CTHRC.

PTDI: Students who complete a PTDI-approved course receive a minimum of 104 hours in the classroom and 44 hours behind the wheel. Again, in-cab observation doesn’t count toward those 44 hours. Total course length at participating schools can range from 240 to 600 hours.

The longer programs place the student with a local commercial fleet for further supervised on-the-road experience in what’s been dubbed an “externship” program. It’s worth noting that the Ontario Trucking Association, Canada’s largest provincial trade group, endorses PTDI.

A PTDI program typically isn’t cheap, either. At one of the two PTDI-accredited schools in Canada-Kim Richardson Transportation Specialists in Caledonia, Ont.-the approved course costs $4300.

The specific teaching modules for either certified course are similar, and include driving technique, brake and other mechanical system inspection and assessment/reporting of problems, coupling/uncoupling trailers, handling all trip-planning documentation and other paperwork, rules of the road and government regulations, and incorporating advanced technology in the trucking industry.

Both the CTHRC and PTDI also have developed additional, shorter supplementary courses for more experienced drivers to upgrade their skills.

Often provided by schools that don’t necessarily offer the full A-Z sanctioned course, these include one-day certifications to gain the veteran driver “course graduate” status; defensive-driving techniques; owner-operator business skills; load-securement tips; skid-control instruction; and others.

Another key part of the big picture-now being actively promoted by both institutions-is what’s dubbed the “driver finishing” course.

This refers to creating an additional certification process whereby drivers once hired by an actual working fleet are provided a minimum standard of advanced training by that employer. This would require significant and widespread support by the industry, but if such a “portable” standard became commonplace, it would greatly facilitate the job of fleet hiring managers in assessing just what skill levels a prospective employee can be expected to possess.

“An accredited school still can exercise their discretion in the basic A-Z driver course, whether they adhere to the PTDI syllabus or, as we’ve chosen to do, the CTHRC course,” says Ed Dailous, general manager at the Markel Institute of Professional Transport Training, Guelph, Ont. “This includes setting the student-to-instructor ratios for the classroom, yard and on-highway training. Our objective is to offer the highest standard that’s both possible and feasible.”

Markel’s CTHRC-approved course comprises 378 total hours-including 180 as an in-cab observer of fellow students at the wheel-and costs upwards of $7000. “Creating the ‘perfect’ syllabus to give fleets everything they want always raises tuition cost to the student,” he says, “but we feel that we’ve come up with a good balance.”

Which program is better? Input from various Canadian driving-school officials brought a wealth of opinion on the pros and cons of the two courses.

One manager felt the PTDI package was too light on the support materials provided for instructors, another felt the CTHRC was too expensive both in school-accreditation costs and for the prices the student would have to pay, and so forth.

Still others think the idea of certifying schools and drivers is bunk, and that the sooner a driver can be put out on the road gaining real-world experience, the better.

It’s all very subjective stuff. Only direct contact to both groups and detailed study of the information packages they’ll be happy to send you can let school management properly assess their relative merits. —

For more info, you can contact the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council at 613/244-4800, or the Professional Truck Driver Institute at 703/838-8842.