MPI cuts entry level truck driver training program

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This article was published 16/06/2017 (3163 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Public Insurance is putting the brakes on a program that was designed to tackle the lack of truck drivers in the province by covering tuition costs.

The Entry Level Professional Truck Driver Training Program, administered through the Manitoba Trucking Association, is being phased out — with new applicants no longer being accepted while previously accepted applicants having until June 30 to find a sponsor and complete the paperwork, MPI spokesperson Brian Smiley said.

The program provided full tuition funding for those who qualified for training programs in Manitoba. Trucking companies that participated in the program’s sponsorship also had the benefit of a contract guaranteeing them a professional driver for the agreed upon timeframe after the candidate finished training.

Without the program in place, drivers are on the hook for their own tuition, which can be more than $8,000, according to Chris Martin, a driver support co-ordinator with Paul’s Hauling in Brandon.

“The training is still being offered … it’s just going to cost more,” Martin said. “For people that can’t afford it, it will definitely push some people back from doing it financially.”

Even though it was a successful program, Smiley said it ran way past its due date.

“The program started out as a three-year pilot back in 2008, so it was only intended to go for three years,” Smiley said. “We could see that there was some success with it, but ultimately the program ran for about a decade and it was determined that we are now going to go in a different direction.”

MPI wants to refocus on other initiatives with the Manitoba Trucking Association, Smiley said, but specifics have yet to be determined.

“We’re in conversations with the Manitoba Trucking Association, with the ultimate goal of improving road safety,” Smiley said.

Craig Stinson, lead instructor with First Class Training Centre, said the government is making a huge mistake.

“It was a really good program … it’s a shame to see it go,” Stinson said. “The government doesn’t want people on unemployment, they want people to keep working, but they are taking away a program that worked.”

The people who take advantage of the program are people looking to turn their lives around by getting a leg up into a viable industry, Stinson said.

“There’s always jobs in the trucking industry … we need the drivers out there and we need qualified drivers,” Stinson said. “The trucking industry got a pretty bad (reputation) over the years, but because we’re classified as a trade now … you have to take training to be professional at it, it’s improved.”

Stinson said he also worries about how the quality of drivers will be affected with the change.

“We teach professional drivers, and it’s going to be a shame because now we’re going to get an influx of drivers who are going to try and learn on their own from a buddy and they aren’t going to learn professionally. They’re just going to be guys who know how to stir and drive a truck,” Stinson said.

The removal of the program is already starting to affect the amount of students they receive, Stinson said.

“It’s going to affect us big time … We’re going to take a kicking. A lot of students that come through here go through that MPI funding, a lot of people relied on that,” Stinson said. “I already had one student come in who was looking at going through MPI and she may not get any funding anywhere else, so there’s one student gone. This was the first one that I’ve had come in that’s looking for funding elsewhere. There’s probably a lot of people out there that aren’t going to get funded.”

So far, Paul’s Hauling hasn’t had issues with a lack of drivers, Martin said, adding that if enough people can’t afford the training, it could be in the future.

“Throughout the industry there’s definitely a shortage in drivers,” Martin said. “Luckily for us, we’re not in too bad a shape that way, but there’s definitely a need for drivers in the trucking industry in general.”

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