Alberta introduces new learning program to replace Mandatory Entry Level Training [Video]

When the Humboldt Broncos hockey team bus collided with a semi-truck in Saskatchewan in April 2018, 16 people died.

It was found to have been caused by an inexperienced and undertrained semi-truck driver, and prompted a number of provinces including Alberta to introduce plans to launch mandatory entry-level training (MELT).

MELT requires new Class 1 drivers to complete more than 100 hours of driver training.

The Alberta government has announced that a new “learning pathway” will replace the Mandatory Entry Level Training, which has been in place since 2019.

MELT has been identified by the trucking industry as a factor contributing to driver shortages, due to increased time and costs of the recruitment process.

Robert Harper, president of the Alberta Motor Transport Association, says there are 4,000 current job vacancies. He says the MELT program has been expensive.

“It’s added a lot of cost, but hasn’t really, I don’t believe, …