The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has hit the reset button on mandatory entry-level training (MELT) for commercial truck driver Class A licences.
The MTO has ordered driver certification program organizations and registered career college course providers to clarify how they create and incorporate standardized lesson plan requirements into their curriculum.
In a bulletin, the ministry stated that it has developed a new sample lesson plan template as a guide that meets standard requirements which will provide an additional resource to help ensure consistency and quality.
The updated curriculum, including lesson plans, must be resubmitted to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) by July 1, 2025. In the province, truck driving schools must be registered as career colleges.
Although the requirement for lesson plans is not new, and many training providers already follow their own lesson plans while delivering MELT programs, career colleges will now be required to incorporate detailed lesson plans in their MELT programs, noted Charlotte Smaglinski, superintendent of career colleges.
Evaluation by subject matter experts
In a memo to registered career colleges, she said these plans must include information concerning lesson topics, timeframes, instructor-to-student ratios, training materials, and learning outcomes.
The submissions must include new evaluations of programs by adult education specialists and subject matter experts. These evaluators must attest that, in their opinion, the plans conform to the requirements of the Class A training standard.
“If the required program changes are not submitted in time or do not meet the commercial truck driver training standard (Class A), approval of your program may be revoked so that you can no longer offer or deliver the program(s) in question and/or you may be prohibited from enrolling new students,” Smaglinski said.
Ministry issues enforcement warning
Course providers can continue using their previously approved curriculum while waiting for re-approval of their updated curriculum from MTO or MCU. Once the curriculum is re-approved, they will be required to utilize that curriculum moving forward.
The MTO warned that course providers who do not submit their updated curriculum including the lesson plans or are found to be delivering non-compliant lesson plans after the six-month transition period may be subject to enforcement actions by the ministry auditing teams.
Techni-Com president Rolf VanderZwaag, a developer of training programs and one of the architects of MELT in Ontario, first shared the news in professional network post. He applauded the ministry’s action and expected it will weed out many bad actors over the next six months.
Decision attracts support
“It doesn’t eliminate the fact that the schools can say something and do something else. It’s a start, and that becomes their truth,” VanderZwaag said.
“This may help correct the current situation where proper training, which costs a school anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000 to deliver, is no longer offered for $3,000 to $3,500.”
Philip Fletcher, president of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario supported the decision, saying it is necessary to refresh what schools are doing and ensure everybody is on track.
TTSAO members plan to work together
He’s in talks with the association’s members to work on the detailed lesson plan together. “It would make it easier for MTO and MCU to see that we are all on the same page and we’re teaching the program the way it’s supposed to be taught,” he said.
Fletcher called for enforcement to make sure schools are complying with what they say they are going to do.
Geoff Wood, senior vice-president, policy, Ontario Trucking Association, said the ministry’s decision is a good starting point and should be followed up with additional enforcement and oversight.
“Anybody that’s doing the right thing, I don’t see any issues. If folks are doing stuff they’re not supposed to be doing, or taking shortcuts, those groups might have issues,” he said.
Credit: Source link
