CHAT News File Photo

By Chris Brown

Province announces $30M in grants for training truck drivers

Mar 24, 2022 | 1:06 PM

Alberta is rolling out a boost to the commercial trucking industry.

Grant funding of $10 million in each of the next three years will support will help put more commercial drivers behind the wheel, says the province.

The split will see $6 million in grants for the Driving Back to Work grant program to support unemployed Albertans and $3 million to support women returning to the workforce and underemployed Albertans.

The remaining $1 million will go toward developing online and virtual reality simulator training.

WHAT'S ON

Here is what's on this weekend in Medicine Hat and area: Dec. 13-15

15h ago

IN THE COMMUNITY

Medicine Hat's Mustard Seed adding new shelter spaces at Alberta government's request

Dec 12, 2024

HOLIDAYS

Medicine Hat Kiwanis hosting Christmas dinner, applications due Friday

Dec 12, 2024

“We are building on the success of the Driving Back to Work grant program that has helped hundreds of Albertans retrain for a career in the transportation sector. It’s important that we continue to support an industry that’s facing a labour shortage by putting more drivers on our roads,” states Transportation Minister Rajan Sawhney in a release.

The government estimates that by next year there will be a shortage of about 3,600 commercial drivers in Alberta and says more than 50 per cent of all goods in Alberta are delivered by truck.

The province also announced commercial drivers will have the option to do their Class 1 road test in either an automatic or manual transmission vehicle starting in early 2023. It says the decisions recognizes that more than half of the trucks on Alberta roads have automatic transmissions. Drivers who are tested and passed on an automatic transmission will be limited to driving automatic trucks only.