July 2013 Volume 33, Issue 7 Delivering daily news to Canada’s trucking industry at www.trucknews.com
Cutting corners
Shop class in session
Unregistered training schools churning out illprepared job candidates, training industry alleges. By James Menzies TORONTO, Ont. – Last year, Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU), together with industry, adopted a 200-hour curriculum for aspiring professional truck drivers. The objective was laudable; to ensure prospective truck drivers would receive the in-depth training necessary to be immediately employable and ready to contribute upon their arrival into the industry. So why is it then, that poorly trained and ill-prepared A/Z licence holders continue to show up at carriers’ doors for road tests? That’s the million-dollar question that reputable training institutions, and the carriers looking for new drivers, want to know. Guy Broderick is a professional driver and road-tester for a Brampton, Ont.-based fleet. He regularly sees licensed drivers show up for a road test who have clearly had little or no proper training on their way to acquiring an A/Z licence. “You can tell within the first five minutes,” he said. “You can Continued on page 14
$2.5-million shop class: Bramalea Secondary School has created a new truck and bus program with support of industry, which will provide students with the best tools and training. Photo by Andrew Craig
Ontario high school opens first-of-its-kind truck maintenance shop By Adam Ledlow BRAMPTON, Ont. – Students enrolled in Bramalea Secondary School’s Truck and Bus program now have an impressive classroom to call home after the recent opening of a multi-million-dollar truck maintenance facility on school grounds. The ribbon-cutting celebration, held inside the new $2.5-million building May 16, was strongly attended
A new alternative
by school staff and students, government officials, and partnering trucking companies, manufacturers, dealerships, associations, media and other dignitaries. Dr. Peter Gibson, vice-principal at the high school and one of the main proponents behind the creation of the program and construction of the new facility, called the landmark project a first for Canada – and possibly North America.
“This program will not only inform them thoroughly of the transportation industry, but the program itself will expand their knowledge of the pathways, all of the things that are available for them in the trucking industry, especially in Ontario,” Gibson told Truck News at the event. The new program, working in tandem with the school’s existing SpeContinued on page 24
Inside This Issue...
Volvo to bring DME-powered • Being the best: What’s it take to be a Best Fleet to Drive For? have the answers, shared during a recent cross-Canada truck to North American market. We speaking tour by the program’s administrator. Page 17 Page 56 • For the health of it:
Many top carriers are offering formal health and wellness programs for drivers. What are the benefits of doing so and what will it cost? Page 30
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• Road test: We take a spin in the new International ProStar with SCR-equipped MaxxForce 13.
Page 52
• The Blame Game: Back on the road with regular freight, Mark Dalton has a first-hand account with road rage.
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