Even before the word pandemic became commonplace in our vocabulary, the trucking industry has been short of drivers.
Not much has changed since then and the demand for professional drivers continues to grow. According to an article by the Canadian Trucking Alliance, in April of this year, there were an estimated 23,000 job vacancies in the industry and it is projected to double by 2024.
Sagan Gordon, program coordinator at MH Enterprises says that is very much the case in Alberta and Drumheller. A quick peruse of local opportunities on their website shows many positions calling for qualifications of Class 1 or a Class 3 license.
“It does seem like they’re really eager to get drivers,” said Gordon. “It seems like the demand is still there.”
Attaining a designation as a commercial driver offers more than just the opportunity to do long or short-haul trucking. The skill is in demand in many industries that use heavy equipment.
“You can do really anything. There are tons, once you do your class one driver’s license, you can do oilfield or long hauls, courier service, It is really open in terms of what industry you end up in.”
While MH Enterprises does not have programs for entering the trucking industry, they are a good point of first contact.
“There are other agencies that do that explicitly. Typically, our funding does not cover a Class 1 but it would cover a Class 3. That allows you to drive a tandem truck but not a large semi-truck,” said Gordon. “We can always direct people to the appropriate funding because there are funded programs to the MELT program, it is just not something that we facilitate.”
One issue she has learned is many are looking for more experienced drivers.
“The difference is it is getting harder for companies to insure people who don’t have experience, so I have heard. So there are people willing to do Class One Driving, it is a little trickier when you are starting fresh.”
“It could be company specific or it could be a number of things. Someone’s driving record also has an impact on it as well. Even if it is not commercial driving they can pull your abstract and if you have a lot of tickets that can be an issue.”
