Canada has been a home to so many people where they have been able to overcome the struggles of their life and start a new journey. Many job opportunities are available and accessible to every interested individual who is willing to work in the country. Generally, Canada jobs offer many benefits to every foreign worker like a visa sponsorship which eases the financial burden and stresses of getting a Canada visa. Every aspiring foreign worker including a truck driver also enjoys visa sponsorship offers and other benefits of working in Canada. In this article, we will explore the information about truck driving jobs and how to apply for a truck driving job in Canada.
Who is a Truck Driver?
A Truck driver is a professional driver who has been licensed and certified to drive long vehicles, semi-trucks, tractor-trailers for the purpose of delivering goods and materials from one place to another. The distance travelled by a truck driver is usually far and long, only an experienced and professional driver can become a truck driver. It is also the duty of a truck driver to protect the deliveries from the place of departure to the final destination. Truck drivers must be very skilled and sensitive to the situation around them to make sure the deliveries are safe.
Types of Truck Drivers in Canada
Below are the types of truck drivers job in Canada:
- Special Truck Drivers: It is a type of special duty truck driver who are assigned to specific duties and roles like the transportation of perishable goods, hazardous materials, heavy materials, etc. This type of truck driver is usually trained and licensed to perform better in this role.
- Self-employed Truck drivers: This type of driver usually owns their trucks and operates single-handedly as sole owner of their company. They provide services on a freelance basis and sometimes work directly with the clients.
- Long-Haul Truck Drivers: Some truck drivers travel on the road for a longer time than usual. They take some days off to be able to travel long distances for a longer time even with a tight travelling schedule.
- Regional Truck Drivers: This type of driver travels only within the specific region and takes fewer days on the road than other truck drivers.
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The Overview of Truck Driving Job in Canada
Canada employers who own a transportation company or whose firms have their own truck to move goods and materials, hire a truck driver to take up the role of driving their truck around. As a truck driver in Canada, your main role is to deliver the goods and materials to the destination place which comes with other roles to be explained later in this article. And you are also most likely to work more during the day and less at night even though you will be working for some hours of the day and not for the whole 24 hours. The wages structure for an average truck driver in Canada is around $28.39 per hour.
Basic Eligibility criteria and Requirements of a Truck Driving Job in Canada
- Age: You must be at least 18 years and above to work in Canada.
- Language Proficiency: As a truck driver, you must be able to understand, speak and write in any of Canada’s official languages. This will help you to communicate effectively with your co-workers and everyone in the community.
- Academic requirements: A truck driver does not really require a higher degree or advanced certificate to process your job application. The minimum academic requirement is a high diploma or secondary certificate.
- License and certificate: You must have your own driver’s license to begin working as a truck driver in Canada.
- Working experience: You must have at least months or years of experience in driving within a period of seven months and above.
- Criminal record: You must have no criminal record or be convicted of any crimes.
- Medically fit: You must be medically fit and strong enough to withstand a long time of working outside.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Truck Driver in Canada
- Truck driver is in charge of planning all the routes and directions with modern equipment like a global positioning system (GPS) to direct the truck to the right destination.
- You will also be responsible for receiving all important information and sending feedback to the centre company.
- You will be in charge of loading the goods onto the truck and unloading them from the truck when being delivered.
- You must be able to drive all types of trucks including long vehicles, tractor-trailers especially when you work in a larger company.
- As a truck driver, you must be able to oversee all the circumstances and conditions that are likely to happen in your working environment.
- You must be professional in the provision of your services to your clients.
- You must be able to plan for all your trip plans from the pre-journey, the route and the post-journey.
- You must record all the information regarding delivery, truck like the truck plate number, numbers of hours, amount of goods being supplied for, fuel consumption, etc.
- You must also perform a daily routine check on the truck and be able to make minor repairs on the truck.
Benefits of a Truck Driver Job in Canada
- Highly paid salary: Truck drivers are highly paid according to their level of experience, entry-level position. They are paid around $50,000 on average for every new truck driver.
- Job security: It is normal that Canada jobs are available to everyone but it also gives you a sense of security. In the industry, truck driver jobs are secured and are promising to be financially rewarding to both the employers and the employees.
- Less requirements: A truck driver job does not require a lot of requirements like other jobs in the industry. The job does not need you to have an advanced certificate like a bachelor’s or master’s degree. With a basic academic certificate like a high school and your driver’s license, you are potentially qualified for the job. Even after a period of weeks or months, you will get endorsements training like commercial driver’s license (CDL) which will earn you more rights to drive heavy and long vehicles.
- Professional/Personal development: As a truck driver, there are some on-the-job training and other development seminars, you can enrol for the programmes while you can continue your truck driver job. Also, there are also prospects for development into other areas like management and execution.
- Free Training Session: A larger transport company will request for no fees for training sessions while you are in contract with them. Unlike working on your own, you may have to pay a sum of money for the training session but it is possibly free when you are in contract with a larger transport company.
- Enabling working environment: For a successful work to be done, the environment must be a safe and well secured place where the movement of goods and materials will be possible without an ounce of threats during operation. And Canada’s environment is welcoming and warm to everyone regardless of their culture, race, religion, which will enable you to feel comfortable and accepted while working in the country.
- Community Connection: Canada has a global community where professional truck drivers are together and has only the best interest of their members at heart. With a community like that, you can easily grow and connect with senior professionals who can elevate you above their imaginations.
Four Major Steps to Take Before Applying for any Unskilled jobs in Canada
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How long does it take to become a truck driver in Canada?
Firstly, if you were a driver before you started to train as a truck, the total period for training will be around 6 weeks to 12 months depending on the level of your skills. Some companies do offer on-the-job training for the new drivers which will be around the first three months of resumption.
2. How many hours do truck drivers work?
Most truck drivers usually work for a longer time and others for just a few hours during the day. Long-haul truck drivers spend a lot of time on the road, approximately 40 hours per week on the road.
3. What are the skills and qualities of a good truck driver?
To be a great truck driver, you must:
- Be able to work for a long time outdoor
- Enjoy driving on the road.
- Independent and strong enough to act alone
- Have good vision and sensitive
- Have a good coordination of the senses.
4. What does a typical job posting look like?
In most of the Canada online job portals, the job posts are always in this structure:
- Job title: Truck driver
- Employer
- Shift: Day
- Terms of employment: Full-time
- Start date:
- Job description
- Requirements
- Who can apply for this job?
- How to apply
5. How do I apply for a truck driver job?
You can apply for a truck driver job only of the online job platforms where different job posts are listed daily to interested applicants. Examples of these online job platforms include: Indeed, Workopolis, Canada job bank, etc. You must also construct your resume and cover letter to suit the job description, updating all your certificates and licenses.