OTA Completes Driver Certification Curriculum that Meets MELT Standards
Available soon for OTA Members to train from within their organization
(May 3, 2017) — The “Essential Driving Skills; Tractor-Trailer Driver” curriculum package is now complete and approved by the Ministry of Transportation (MTO). The materials are now in production and will be available shortly as an off-the-shelf program to OTA member fleets wishing to upgrade their Driver Certification Program (DCP) to meet the new standards for Mandatory Entry Level Training in Ontario kicking in July 1, 2017.
Known in industry terms as “DCP in a Box”, the robust program is designed for upgrading drivers to the Class A licence, and will be attractive to many DCP participant companies. OTA will begin offering the curriculum package to training providers in the next 1 to 2 months.
Developed over the course of the past 24 months, as part of OTA’s MELT/DCP working group, the “Essential Driving Skills; Tractor-Trailer Driver” package consists of:
- 406-page driver textbook
- 820-page instructor manual
- 36 lesson plan modules covering classroom, yard and driving
- 877 PowerPoint slide deck
- 8 hours of narrated content
- Instructor orientation workshop
“With the development of MELT we knew there would be changes to how drivers are trained in the province. OTA felt it was necessary to provide its membership with a plug-and-play option to comply with the new standards should they want to develop professional truck operators from within their own organizations,” said Stephen Laskowski, OTA President. “DCP in a box will do this for carriers in a very cost effective manner, as well as streamline many of the other internal processes that come along with MTO’s Driver Certification Program.”
OTA members interested in this initiative are invited to an orientation session with OTA’s MELT/DCP Working Group Wednesday May 23, 2017 at OTA’s offices. A full briefing will take place on the new program. For session time/location details and to register click here.
Non-OTA members interested in this initiative and the orientation session should email operations&safety@ontruck.org for more information about attending.
Marco Beghetto | VP of Communications & New Media,
Ontario Trucking Association/Canadian Trucking Alliance
Phone: 416-249-7401 | Fax: 1-866-713-4188