Canada's much-publicized truck driver shortage is escalating. So says the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC) in its new survey, Canada's Driving Force Phase 2.
"The shortage of Class 1/A drivers represents a major concern for trucking employers in Canada. Almost two-thirds (60%) of employers noted that driver shortages were one of the top two concerns for their organization," the report states.
So what's new? Here's what Price Waterhouse wrote in 1990 on behalf of the Steering Committee of the Canadian Trucking Industry, Employment and Immigration Canada-the precursor of CTHRC: "The demands placed on drivers have increased, as carriers respond to economic pressures and a new emphasis on safe operations...
As a consequence, there is a shortage of drivers with the qualifications for and the interest in the most demanding segments of the industry." Those words are 17 years old. We've come so far, haven't we?
So, it's been a given for a while that most for-hire carriers say they can't find drivers for their operations. That doesn't necessarily mean, however, that surplus commercial license holders don't exist-at least for a while, until Canada's bleak demographic future becomes too stark to ignore in the next 15 to 20 years.
According to CTHRC's study, more than a third of individuals who've obtained their class 1/A license may genuinely want to drive, but don't ever migrate to the trucking industry. "There is, therefore, a considerable loss of potential drivers between licensing and employment in the industry," notes the study. "The shortage of qualified drivers is not a ‘supply side' issue, but rather a training-qualification issue."
In the eyes of employers, the existing supply of available drivers are often not "qualified" to step in because of insufficient training or experience, notes the study. When asked, nearly two-thirds of new drivers also admitted they don't possess the skills for a safe and productive career in trucking. Even with a license in hand, 63.5 percent of newly-hired drivers feel they need additional training, whether it involves backing, coupling and uncoupling; shifting; or defensive driving. Whom or what, in the end, is responsible for bridging this gap between unqualified prospects and professional employment isn't something that the CTHRC survey directly addresses, except to say there is no "magic bullet" and a "one size fits all strategy may not be sufficient."
Less scrupulous driving schools-license mills, as they're commonly called-are obviously legitimate targets.
"There are driver training facilities out there that will take people's money and help them get a class 1 license without ever looking at the driver's abstract. Of course, the guy goes out looking for work with a nice new shiny license and no quality carrier in his right mind will hand them the keys to a $150,000 truck," says Andy Roberts, president and CEO of Mountain Transport Institute in B.C. "They don't get enough proper training, so they're handicapped right off the bat. This is what's frustrating for me. You have an individual who's interested in our industry, but who's severely limited."
Mandating a standard training criteria for schools and toughening up the provincial road test are a couple ideas, although, as Roberts quips, "we'll all be old and gray waiting for government to act." The onus, therefore, rests with carriers to help bring down the costs of the mills' reputable training competitors, while at the same time doing a heck of a lot more to balance the work-life demands of both veterans and the ever-scarce new generation driver.
Despite the alarming number of carriers that report empty trucks parked by the fence, a significant proportion of carriers (30.2%) provide either no training (17.1%) or limited training (13.1%). This suggests, anecdotally anyway, that too many carriers are only interested in road-ready drivers showing up at their front door. The problem with that attitude is there are many other industries-far less laborious and higher paying than trucking-that are paying people to learn. "If you look at ownership, there's still a lot of older guys stuck on ‘well, this is how we did it, so this is how it should be done,'" says Roberts. "They may not necessarily be the most progressive people in the world."
Roy Nichols, former HR professional and co-owner of Commercial Safety College in Truro, N.S., thinks trucking associations and sector agencies like CTHRC would be better served if they put more resources into lobbying for reform of government employment assistance programs like Service Canada, which oversees EI, education and training for the unemployed. The problem with the system, according to Nichols, is applicants cannot hold a job while qualifying for skilled-trades training funding.
"So, there's some under-skilled poor bugger who's working part-time at Tim Horton's and part-time at the grocery store because his pride won't allow him to go on a social service program. Well, he's being discriminated against because he wants to work," Nichols explains passionately.
"Has anyone looked at this guy, who's demonstrated a clear work ethic, if he's interested in learning a skill? No, because the only way he can be eligible (for funding) through Service Canada is if he quit his job."
Despite the dwindling demographic picture, Nichols believes there will always be a small pool of potential drivers who have personalities that lend themselves, perhaps with a little encouragement, to trucking. "Those who like it, like it a lot," he says, mimicking the ads of that famous Maritime beer.
Ideally, the trucking industry would take its cue from other apprenticed trades, or-as our own editor Jim Park envisions-an NHL hockey team. The industry, he explains, should be investing a little of its own money in developing the talent they pluck out of driving schools. "Like the farm system in professional sports, the driving schools are a training ground. The company is the team, and the one who invests most wisely in its recruits will win."
Sure, it sounds all warm and fuzzy. But like any small Canadian hockey team struggling to compete for free agent talent against more glamorous, high-paying markets is fully aware, you better invest and nurture from within if you want to stand any chance of getting into the playoffs.
