Keep on trucking
Province announces new program to give young people trucking experience
Premier Wade MacLauchlan announced details of a new program to give young people experience to prepare them for a career in the trucking industry.
Young Islanders considering a career in the trucking industry now have the option of testing it out and seeing if it’s the right move for them.
Premier Wade MacLauchlan announce Friday that the provincial government will be partnering with the P.E.I. Trucking Sector Council to offer a new program called Team Youth Trucking. The initiative allows companies to apply for government funding for 10 weeks of work for a person in high school or post-secondary.
Brian Oulton, executive director of the P.E.I. Trucking Sector Council, said Friday that the program will allow the industry to make an impression on young people at a critical juncture in their life, when they’re still deciding on a career.
The Island trucking industry’s biggest labour demands right now are for long-haul drivers, especially those old enough (you have to be 21) and experienced enough to drive to the U.S., and for mechanics.
The hope is that Team Youth Trucking will steer a few more people toward those two streams of work, said Oulton.
“Every industry is competing for people. So you have to try new things to try and capture them, because one thing about trucking is that it’s typically an industry where if you work in it, you stay in it.
“We don’t have a huge turnover in the industry, so if we can capture them when they’re young, we feel we’re going to keep them.”
Stephen Arsenault, co-owner of AJL General Contractors, hosted Friday’s announcement at his business in St. Philippe. He’s been pretty fortunate in terms of being able to find the people he needs to keep his business running smoothly, he said, but he still sees this program as a good investment in the industry’s future.
“I’m going to take advantage of it, if I can, get a young person in and get them with someone on a truck,” said Arsenault. “Give them some experience – and I think that’s what a lot of youth need. See if that’s what they want, or maybe not, and they go back to school.” Team Youth Trucking is based on a similar program in the seafood sector. It will employ 15 students this year and one co-ordinator and is supported by $93,000 in funding from Skills P.E.I.