You may think that it’s impossible nowadays to find a good, stable career, but what if you were simply looking in the wrong place? For example, did you know that truck drivers are currently in high demand, and that a truck driver is well-remunerated with an excellent yearly salary? It’s true! With the baby boomers aging and about to reach retirement, employers in the transportation industry are currently looking for smart, reliable candidates who can take over for the older generation. Some Canadian training programs currently boast an astonishing 96% employment rate for truck drivers, and there is also healthy demand for graduates of dispatch school. If you possess a strong sense of duty, good work ethic and love being on the road, life as a truck driver could be just what you’re looking for. Likewise, transportation operations training can lead to rewarding careers managing, training and recruiting truck drivers in the growing industry.
Recruiting young truck drivers
Truck driving, as a whole, hasn’t seen as much change as other professions in recent years, such as business management or office work. Today’s drivers rely on much more efficient communication and planning equipment, and modern trucks sometimes resemble luxurious mobile homes, but otherwise, the work still centers around driving from point A to point B, delivering the goods on time. This stability means that younger workers usually don’t perceive truck driving as being quite so glamourous as other professions. Where truck driving has excelled in recent years, however, is in recruiting and training second career workers. In general, they are a little older and more grounded in life. Moreover, their past experiences usually benefit their new auto careers.
So who are these second career workers? Some have been in and out of the education system for a few years, unable to settle on a career. Others are unemployed workers coming through re-employment programs after demonstrating interest for automotive careers. Occasionally, you’ll even see workers who decided to completely reorient their lives. They were bank managers, corporate representatives, substitute teachers and more, but simply weren’t happy with what they were doing. Through truck driving, they often find the simple joy and peace they were looking for all along.
Training new recruits
In order to be effective truck drivers, new recruits will need much more than just a driver’s license. Through practice-oriented training, they’ll learn how to operate in-truck technology, such as a satellite communication system, and will become familiar with pickup and delivery deadlines, cargo-handling requirements, how to monitor the temperature of a time-sensitive cargo and more. Over time, they’ll also develop strategies to avoid traffic and improve efficiency.
Moreover, the training program will cover defensive driving, route planning, on air-brake systems, procedures for safety inspections, including pre-trip inspections, and accident procedures. Lastly, transportation of dangerous goods, border crossing and legal requirements for both Canada and the United States will also be discussed.
