Alberta is a land of opportunity right now, especially for those who have earned their Class 1 licenses.
Job boards are filled with employers seeking trained truck drivers.
“Class 1 and 3 licenses are in demand. There is a shortage of truck drivers across the province. With a Class 1 license, you can find work anywhere in Alberta,” said Rob Lunman, business and industry team leader with the Drumheller Alberta Works branch.
With a province-wide shortage, job boards are filled with listings from employers seeking trained class one and three truck drivers.
The demand is being driven by the transport industry and, like for many other careers, the oil and gas industry.
“The demand is mostly from long haul trucking, so the transportation logistics industry, and shorter distances, like oil field and construction,” said Lunman. “They need people to drive anything from dump trucks to vac trucks.”
The training to earn a Class 1 license is a long, hard road, but there are many programs out there to help train aspiring drivers. Most program will cover how to drive large trucks, plus a number of secondary skills, such as vehicle maintenance and load control.
“There are a number of training providers out there and it can take some time and money to get it done, but it’s certainly a good investment in that there are so many opportunities out there,” said Lunman.
“One of the things we’ve heard from employers is they prefer people with experience. It can be a challenge for people to get their training, licenses, and then some real world experience, but there’s such a shortage that if you have the right attitude the opportunities will come and if you can get into a training program that covers most of those, you’ll certainly have an advantage.”
Although the cost can be steep, the wages being offered are such that whatever you spend on training and obtaining your licence will be repaid quite quickly.
“There is a pretty good range of wages. You can make quite a bit of money as a driver. I would say starting, you’re looking at around $25 per hour, but could be more. If you’re working full-time, you could make $80,000 per year or more,” said Lunman.
Alberta is growing and to help drive that growth, people with Class 1 licenses have plenty of opportunities.
