Jobs & Money Detail
Canada needs truck drivers
Truck drivers are one of the most in demand groups of workers in Canada
Yet those of you who work in the trucking industry in the UK and are more than interested in heading across the Atlantic to fill the shortages cannot presently emigrate through the federal government's Skilled Worker programme, writes David Fuller.
Despite the fact that current estimates state the Canadian trucking industry needs to employ some 37,000 truck drivers a year merely to keep the workforce at its current strength, the Canuck government does not deem 'long-haul truck drivers' a 'skilled' occupation for migration purposes.The Canadian Trucking Association (CTA) has long pleaded with the government to make changes to the current regulations, but as yet truck drivers are still not included under Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B of the National Occupations Classifications (NOC) list. However, this isn't to say that experienced British drivers won't be able to emigrate and help fill the shortages in the country.
Thanks to the emergence and increasing importance of the country's Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) over the past few years it has become common for truck driving applicants to emigrate to Canada with provincial government sponsorship. The PNP gives an individual province the power to select immigrants which best suit its needs, and with truck drivers so in demand throughout the whole of Canada the trucking industry is one of the sectors to have benefited most from this scheme.
Practically every Canadian province is more than happy to nominate experienced truck driving applicants from overseas providing they can achieve a job offer from a trucking company located in that particular province first. In December 2005 Saskatchewan even established a Long-Haul Truck Driver Project under its PNP to make the nomination of such applicants even easier.
The project allows Saskatchewan trucking firms to bring workers to the province under Service Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker policy for occupations requiring a high school diploma, or specific on the job training, and then hire them as permanent employees through the SINP (Saskatchewan Immigration Nomination Programme). This allows long-haul truck drivers to begin working in Saskatchewan for a trucking firm on a foreign work permit then, after six months, if they are offered a permanent job, they may apply to the SINP for permanent resident status.
Other provinces, such as New Brunswick, have also set aside special provisions for foreign truck drivers. It is also believed that once Ontario finally joins the PNP scheme (hopefully early next year), this will allow the province's beleaguered trucking industry to employ some much needed new recruits. According to the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) the province needs 20,000 new drivers each year to keep pace with economic growth and the retirement of older drivers. Of the chance to employ some overseas truckers once Ontario finalises its PNP agreement, David Bradley, president of the OTA, said: "Current drivers do not have to fear an influx of new drivers. The tight capacity that has been reflected in the market in recent years will continue going forward. A PNP would provide some potential relief for those carriers that wish to avail themselves of the opportunity."
So desperate have trucking firms become for overseas workers that some have even approached immigration consultants to help them find suitable recruits, and then help future employees negotiate the best visa process for them. One such firm to be currently taking registrations for those interested in long-haul trucking opportunities in Canada is Willis Brazolot and Co, which would be happy to receive assessments from applicants providing they meet the following criteria:
You must be a minimum of 25 years old (maximum 55 years old);
You must have good English language skills;
Your driver's licence must show accident-free experience for the last four years (HGV and automobile);
You must attest to being drug and alcohol free (not including your pint at the local whilst off-duty); and
You must have a clean police record for the last five years (not including speeding offences etcetera).
For those of you who do successfully manage to emigrate to Canada as a truck driver you can expect your hourly wage to range from anything between as low as CDN$11 to as high as CDN$30 depending on where you work. According to the latest wage data published by Services Canada, the highest average hourly wages for truck drivers are found in Northern British Columbia (CDN$29.66) while the lowest are currently CDN$11.76 in Prince Edward Island.
For more information:
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