alastairj

Family from Bonnie Scotland gearing up to move to Nova Scotia (or nearby)
We should hear if our 3 year wait is successful sometime in 2008. I'm looking to ditch my desk job for life behind the wheel. Does anyone know if I do my Class1 HGV in the UK, if any Canadian Companies will take on rookie drivers for employment?

Best for 2008

Alastair J

Lorna_D

Hi Alastair and welcome to BE, you won't go far wrong if you read the wiki thread on trucking it will give you a lot of information.

Gremmie

Posted on the Seafood thread aswell,your HGV1 is not accepted here in Canada,so save your money.As to being a rookie driver,well it can and has been done. Andy was a real Estate agent,which is one rung lower than working for the government and lives on NS, he also saw the light and re-trained and now runs his own truck. Suggest you contact him through this forum,he's the Leeds fan and very helpful to those needing it.

bigwheels241

UK license is worth a Peanut Tree in Canada

So, my advise is when you get there, get ya license then just do a 20 mile radius of the location you live and pop into Trucking Co's offering to ride shot-gun to gain exp.

DAVIE_MAC

Have a look here:

http://www.safetycollege.ca/default.htm

This is where Andy trained and they have a good rep and the setup there is great. I went to see them regarding employment as a driving instructor and they were very very helpful and took time out to see me when I visited. They have a guy there who deals with overseas students. I know Andy enjoyed his time there and found the course really helpful to him as he was a rather new trucker.

If you go to Canada as a landed PR then you can drive in any job you like long or short haul where as if you apply via PNP then it "Should" be long haul as that is what the provinces are short of and to qualify for PNP then they need to be long haul jobs......however there have been guys gone on short haul / home nightly jobs.

andy_sheila

Spot on Gremmie except that i live IN Nova Scotia, not ON, we are not an island......................yet Davie, you are also spot on and i would like to add that Armour are crying out for drivers and they do local and long haul.

Gremmie

Oh dont be so pedantic NS might aswell be an island

andy_sheila

alastairj

Guys, thanks for the info - obviously, being a Scotsman I don't want to spend more money than neccessary! The link is very helpful, but Andy, can you tell me if it would be possible to apply before we land? Which course did you do? I presume you need to have your NS Car drivers license first?

Cheers

Alastair

andy_sheila

Guys, thanks for the info - obviously, being a Scotsman I don't want to spend more money than neccessary! The link is very helpful, but Andy, can you tell me if it would be possible to apply before we land? Apply to the college you mean? You could easily but there is one test they do that needs to be done before you are accepted onto the course, i can't remember the name of the test but it is easy. You also need a "letter of intent" this is a letter from a trucking company which states that they will consider you for employment on successful completeion of the course. Which course did you do? I did the 12 week Class1 tractor/Trailer course because i was told that the 4 weeks you do on internship counts for 6 months "experience" it doesn't and i would recommend the 8 week course, better still, if you have experience in the UK then you can use my truck for the test and save $5k. I presume you need to have your NS Car drivers license first? You need a Canadian licence to sign up (test needed in NS but a straight swap in some provinces) In NS you can book and take the car test within a week, the test is easy.

Hope this helps, if you have any more questions, just ask.

Andy