BC Trucking Association Seeks 25 Immigrant Truck Drivers For Pilot Project

LANGLEY -The BC TruckingAssociation (BCTA) has developed anew skills assessment tool calledIDRIVE and is looking for 25 recentimmigrants with professional truck-drivingexperience to participate in a pilottest to be scheduled in November orDecember 2013.BCTA is working with BC motor carriersto find ways to address a shortage ofprofessional drivers that could run ashigh as 33,000 across Canada by 2020,according to a Conference Board ofCanada study.”Immigrants to Canada are a valuablesource of labour for the industry butmay need help representing their skills toemployers here,” says Louise Yako,BCTA President & CEO. “And BCemployers need to know how drivingexperience from outside Canada rates inBC, where regulations, equipment, andgeography may be quite different.”To assist, BCTA has partnered with theAsia Pacific Gateway Skills Table todevelop a truck driver skill and experienceassessment tool with input frommotor carriers.IDRIVE stands for “Immigrant DriverReadiness – Industry Validation andEngagement,” and it reviews the professionalexperience of drivers who are newto Canada, to provide them with a verifiedreport on their readiness for employmentin BC. IDRIVE tests industryknowledge, essential skills, employabilitycharacteristics (including customer serviceskills) and driving skills.IDRIVE is made possible by theImmigrant Employment Council of BC.Funding is provided by the Governmentof Canada and the Province of BritishColumbia.”We are pleased to support the BCTA’simmigrant driver readiness tool that willhelp employers understand and benefitfrom the experience and skills of BC’simmigrant labour pool,” says KellyPollack, Executive Director of theImmigrant Employment Council of BC.IDRIVE is now ready for a pilot test, andBCTA invites 25 immigrant drivers toparticipate, to make sure that both driversand trucking industry employers candepend on its results. Assessments cantake place throughout the provincedepending on where drivers are located.Participants must not be employed currentlyin the trucking industry, but mustlive in BC and have a BC Class 1 commercialdriver’s licence – or be willing toobtain one within the timeframe of thepilot project, which includes a road test.They must have at least one year of professionaldriving experience, here or inanother country, read and write basicEnglish, and be eligible to work inCanada, among a few other requirements.In return, participants receive a copy oftheir IDRIVE assessment, and BCTAwill work to connect them with motorcarriers interested in the pilot and lookingfor drivers to hire.