TORONTO, Ont. — Humber College and CarriersEdge have partnered to develop an online college curriculum for professional drivers.

The Certificate in Small Business Management for the Trucking Industry is the first program of its kind in Canada, officials announced. It will launch in September, 2007 and offer business courses from Humber College as well as trucking-specific courses from CarriersEdge.

The program was designed to allow professional drivers to continue developing their skills while on the road.

“Humber has provided specialized training to the trucking industry for over 15 years,” said Janis Miller, Dean, Humber Corporate and Continuing Education. “The key to our success is working with industry partners who bring expert skills to the learning environment. We are very pleased to form this partnership with CarriersEdge. Together we have developed this unique certificate program designed to enhance the professional growth opportunities for commercial drivers.”

The program consists of eight courses including: How To Start A Small Business; Human Relations; Small Business Bookkeeping; Border Crossing; Defensive Driving; Pretrip, HoS and Logbooks; Cargo Securement; and Transportation of Dangerous Goods. The first three courses are developed by Humber while the other courses are offered by CarriersEdge.

“Many drivers would love to have a college education, but have never had the chance”, noted Mark Murrell, president, CarriersEdge. “This program allows them to get that education without sacrificing driving time, even if they never finished high school. Humber has shown tremendous leadership in crafting this program and we’re excited to be working with them.”

More information is available at www.driverquality.com/humber. Also, a more detailed article on the partnership appears in the August issues of Truck News and Truck West.