For a couple of young people, a morning spent climbing into a truck, trying a driving simulator and touring a transportation company and truck driving school was enough to change the way they viewed the trucking industry.
Musket Transport and its in-house driving school, Commercial Heavy Equipment Training (CHET), on July 9 welcomed a group from Youth Without Shelter (YWS) to its Mississauga, Ont., facilities, giving participants a firsthand look at careers in trucking, equipment maintenance and transportation.
The visit included time on a truck-driving simulator, a tour of the maintenance shop, a walk through the truck yard, a ride in a tractor-trailer and a visit to a container handling facility.
Sandra Graham, CHET’s operations manager, said the goal was to introduce young people to an industry facing an aging workforce while exposing them to career opportunities they may not have previously considered.
Employment and building skills
YWS is a North Etobicoke, Ont., organization that has worked with youth experiencing homelessness since 1986. The organization serves young people aged 16 to 24 through emergency shelter, housing assistance, mental health and wellness supports, life-skills training and individualized case management using a trauma-informed, strength-based approach.
YWS also partners with schools, health-care providers, social service agencies, employers and government organizations to help young people overcome barriers, reconnect with education or employment and build skills for long-term independence.
“If attending something like this helps at least one person figure out a career path, then that is the goal,” said Raychel, a primary case manager with YWS.
The organization has already seen one participant pursue employment after a previous visit.
“This is our second visit to CHET and Musket,” said Rashoy, another primary case manager. “We actually had one youth pursue a position with Musket last year as a mechanic.”
For 23-year-old Deidra, the visit began as an opportunity to satisfy her curiosity. She decided to participate because she wanted to learn more about the industry.
By the end of the tour, her outlook had changed.
Trucks no longer intimidating
“I had a good time. It was pretty interesting. I learned a lot,” Deidra said. After touring the facility and riding in a truck, she said she could see herself pursuing a career in the industry.
She admitted she arrived expecting trucking to be intimidating.
“Sometimes when you hear of trucks, you think, ‘Oh, complicated, hard, big,’” she said. “You make it look so easy, so smooth. Like you can do it, too. It doesn’t seem scary, especially when I found out not all the trucks have a standard transmission.”
Twenty-one-year-old Michal attended to learn more about the industry and compare different career paths.
“I wanted to see the overall place, how the career looks, how the training looks,” he said. “The simulator was pretty cool. It was nice seeing the whole training process and the differences between the Class D and Class A/Z licenses.”
The visit also reinforced interests he already had. Michal said he had been interested in becoming a mechanic because he enjoys working with tools. He also said he has always enjoyed driving and left the tour viewing trucking as a career he could pursue. He added that he was impressed by how efficiently the operation functioned and had expected it to involve much more paperwork.
Not every participant left planning a career behind the wheel, but they said the experience gave them a better understanding of the industry.
Keziah, 20, said she was particularly interested in learning about air brakes before the visit. “The simulator was a good experience,” she said. “It actually felt real.”
Although she said she is not interested in pursuing a career in trucking, she appreciated the opportunity to experience it firsthand.
The visit ended at the company barbecue, where the visitors were introduced to managers, drivers and other staff.
Credit: Source link
