leavingcanada

I worked at westcan years back, they started a policy to not recruit during winter months. I also have a buddy who did work for timeline and has just gone back to H&R.
I still keep in touch and see some of the guys from westcan at truck stops and have had a few luches with the safety guy.

Milanuk

leavingcanada: It is just one week since I arrived in Canada and started in Timeline. I am still doing my canadian licence. I should be tested on thursday or friday and I have been already told that I will get a truck on friday afternoon. I met a few guys in the yard, some of them came from H and R and some of them from other companies. All drivers I spoke to were fine and not swearing like most of drivers in UK. They try to help me to get through the basic things. I will find out more when I start driving but I am looking forward. I can´t feel a pressure from anybody. It makes everything much easier.

Ivoryhouse

I work at the Calgary terminal as a driver. I moved here from the uk October 2011 with my Mrs & 2 children.I must say that you will love it here Westcan is a good place to be & Calgary in my opinion the best & friendliest terminal. Hope things go well for you & if you need anything the just ask .

Crushing

hi ivoryhouse,

very sorry mate for replying so late, i normally get an email to say someone has replied to thread

anyway thanks for the offer of help, I'll probably need it lol
i really hope things work out for us and fall into place, from what i have found out about Westcan they are an excellent company to work for but what can you tell me about your first few weeks etc?

cheers buddy

Ivoryhouse

its easy here no pressure. everyone its cool and if you need help just ask. I'm up in suncor oil sands fort mcmurry at Mo but heading home for 3 day reset. I'll contact you over weekend.
ps. fooookin cold here, -22 & snow but its OK.
Regards Richard. (ivoryhouse)

Crushing

Hey Richard,

Yes look forward to any info you can give me about how things are when i first get started there at Westcan.

Cheers mate....

Bal

Ivoryhouse

Hi Bal,
Well first few weeks are pretty slow. (bring money) You wont earn any money for maybe 2-3 weeks but you will spend it. You will have to apply for your drivers licence, Social insurance number, bank account, find a home to rent (if not done that already) then a school for the children if applicable. Oh and a car !!
And 1 NUGGET of information given from my wife, 'contact DVLA in uk & request a report of your uk driving history costs about £10 & also get a reference from your car insurance company' & bring it with you. This saved us $1000's on insurance premiums when we 1st arrived.
After that you will start training & there is a lot of that. Air brake test, driving lessons, driving test. You will pass your driving test easy cos its a piece of cake!. Then if like most of us you will be sent to Edmonton for a weeks training. TDG (transport of dangerous goods) WHMIS (workplace hazardous materials information system) & all general Westcan orientation new driver training. bla bla bla.......... you get the idea!
Once back to Calgary you will do a couple of weeks in cab training with another driver & or safety then thats about it, youl be a free man earning the $$$$$$........
Mostly the newer guys are home every night for the 1st 6 months but not always the case.
As i said before its a great place to work no pressure not too much stress mostly & an amazing country to live & work in. We have never looked back. Hope this helps a bit & if you have any other questions then just ask..
Richard

Crushing

Hi Richard,

Great info mate, I was aware of the training at Edmonton but wasn't sure if it included the TDG/WHMIS, now I know it will be lots to learn.

Make sure you say a big thanks to your wife for the 1 Nugget of information, I had noted that I needed to bring my 'no claims proof' for car insurance but although I had read about the DVLA driving history did not make a note. This I know will save alot of $$$$'s from what I have heard of car insurance in Canada.....

Regarding the driving test, how does the practical test compare to the U.K ?
I guess the theory test is learning as much from the 'Operators Manual' as possible and answering MCQ's ?
I have started revising for the theory test, hoping to be a little more prepared

I thought they sent all Long haul foreign drivers out for 6 days out and 2-3 days rest from the start, well after the drivers were ready anyway. I don't mind either way but maybe it's better for us as family people to settle into our new homes etc.

Thanks Richard for the reassuring words, we are really looking forward to enjoying what Canada has to offer and working hard towards a nice work - life balance.

Make sure you keep in touch Richard and if you have any useful info let me know, I will look forward to meeting up with you and your family once we are over in Calgary

Take care and say Hi!! to your wife and kids......

Bal

Crushing

sorry forgot to mention,

thanks for the picures, it's great to see how very scenic alberta is and that's a big bonus. One of the reasons why we chose calgary was the mountains etc

Speak soon buddy

bal

mkmicky1

do westcan pay for your driving test ,air brake etc or do you fork out yourself for those?

Ivoryhouse

No they sadly do not pay for either. Although they will fund it & deduct from pay over time.

mkmicky1

i do like that idea, i have so many questions, do they pay for travel to the other terminals, just trying to sort costs for someone coming over without family,

flat to the mat

You have to be qualified for the job in hand , so the companies cannot employ you unless you have a valid Canadian 1A , immigration laws etc . However most of the larger players will advance the training and test fees in various ways .
A fellow worzel coming to join us , I used to live in Axbridge , yourself ?

mkmicky1

me frome, ive sent all my bits off to westcan and bison just waiting for things to happen, got most of the paperwork i can, been driving uk for 10 years now just looking for a real challange,
i was looking into h&r but they dont seem very well liked, well to be honest ive only found a few saying there good.

neilg14

If you pay for your training & test, keep all you receipts, and hand them in when you do your taxes.
Mine, IIRC, came to about $1900 and I got about $1600 of that back again.
This is in Alberta, not sure about the other provinces.