WINNIPEG, (Dec. 14, 2004) — The Manitoba Trucking Industry Education Advisory Committee (MTIEAC) has been disbanded, but its tractor-trailer driver training program has been taken on by Winnipeg’s Red River College (RRC).

The curriculum remains similar to what MTIEAC offered, with a few minor changes. The name has been changed to the Red River Professional Truck Driver Training Program.

Red River will continue to offer the CTHRC-accredited Earning Your Wheels course, open to all students who can supply tuition. The average cost of the standard course is about $7000, but fees are negotiable based on the student’s ability to pay. The qualifications for financial assistance are complex, and all inquiries should be directed to program facilitator, Collette Gauvin.

Administrators are currently working on student loan eligibility.
The on-the-job training component of the course has been shortened from six weeks to four, and the sponsoring fee of $300 has been waived for companies interested in taking on a student for the in-cab training portion. The sponsoring company is still required to pay for the student’s drug test.

Students completing the course will receive a post-secondary education certificate. The addition of RRC brings the number of ministry-recognized colleges in Canada offering professional truck-driving courses to four.

According to Linda Gauthier, executive director of the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC), this can only be good for the industry. “These kind of steps will go a long way toward Human Resources & Skills Development of Canada (HRSDC) recognizing and classifying commercial driving as a skilled trade,” she stated. “Right now we’re still nothing.”