Trucking industry needs more qualified drivers

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Saskatchewan is facing a severe shortage of qualified truck drivers. The situation is so bad, in fact, that a pilot project has been launched to bring 180 long-haul truck drivers over from England to work in Saskatchewan.

While this shortage is a problem for the province's trucking industry, it's an opportunity for people wanting to train to become drivers.

Hank Wolbaum is executive director of the Saskatchewan Trucking Association (STA), a non-profit organization that has been providing a strong voice for the province's trucking industry since 1937. He said there are many reasons for the current shortage of drivers, and many reasons why there's never been a better time to consider a career as a truck driver.

"The transportation industry is a vastly growing industry, especially over the last 15 or 20 years since most of Canada's economic growth has moved from warehousing and stockpiling inventory to more of what we call today a 'just-in-time' delivery freight system which has made the trucking industry a bit more viable than the rail industry," he said.

While these industry shifts have meant demand for truck drivers has increased, the same time period has seen a large number of truck drivers from the baby boom generation reach retirement age.

"You combine that with, since the post Second World War era the average size of our normal family has decreased from probably about five children down to 1.7 or whatever the statistic is right now. So all those contributing factors have really put a strain on the trucking industry."

The qualifications you need to become a truck driver are pretty basic-a Grade 12 education and an active driver's licence.

"You must receive a medical prior to obtaining your driver's test, but other than that there are very few requirements that would hold an individual back." Wolbaum said.

You'll also need to attend a training school to learn the basics of the job, and there are no shortage of schools out there to choose from. The STA itself runs a training school, Commercial Truck Services. But how can you make sure the school you're thinking about attending is going to give you the training that you need? Wolbaum said that, generally, the longer the course, the better.

"Yes, one individual probably could take a one-week long course, obtain a 1A driving licence and go out there, but how skilled and qualified would they be with only one week under their belt of driving skill? Yes, they could probably obtain a job, but would they be very good at it? In all likelihood, no. Would they be able to back a trailer inside a building? In all likelihood, no. If they were to take some of the longer courses, yes, they'd be taught to do all those things and they would be better employable by Saskatchewan's various carriers," he said.

"What they want to steer away from is the type of rat's maze school ... you can have any rat follow through a maze and eventually he'll learn the maze and find the cheese. Well, if you're taking a person out to obtain their 1A licence, you run them through the driving course that they need to go through, follow whatever streets and routes that they have to, eventually at the end of a week or so they're going to learn that route well enough to get the licence. Are they good drivers? No. They just learned the maze."

There are basically two career options for truck drivers within the industr-taking on long haul routes or short haul routes-with each offering different advantages and disadvantages, Wolbaum said.

"There are some individuals that love to travel and do not mind being away from their home base for several weeks at a time, and therefore they're the best suited for a long haul truck driver.

Others, because of family commitments and relationships, need to be near home base and therefore some of the more short haul runs are best suited to them."

Whichever option a person chooses, long haul or short, a career as a truck driver ofers the same advantages, Wolbaum said.

"It's not that high a stress position, which is very nice. For all intents and purposes, you're your own boss. You're behind the wheel of the truck. You're the only one in there for the most part, unless you're running tandem, and you have the open road to deal with and that's it."

The STA, through its training division, has been working to bring driver training out to Saskatchewan's First Nation communities. A few bands have already taken advantage of the training programs, with great success, and Wolbaum is hoping more will come on board in the future.

"Commercial Truck Services is one of the companies that would love to business with any one of the band councils," he said.