Calling on all truck drivers.

[TruckerWannabe]

Hi, first time posting and I'm losing my mind with frustration as everywhere I search there seems to be conflicting answers so I'm hoping to hear from someone who's actually done it. On one hand you have the people against immigration who'll say anything to turn you away and on the other you have the people who just guess and have never even emigrated, much less emigrated as a trucker so it's hard getting a legit reliable answer.

I'm a UK citizen living in the UK and want to become a truck driver in Canada, specifically Manitoba, Alberta or Saskatchewan. I'm NOT currently a truck driver in my home country and have no experience trucking but employers hire people without experience all the time right? Fresh out of CDL school.

Is there anyone who has literally flown to Canada, job hunted, found an employer willing to hire them, got a job offer, got a work permit, went through CDL school and actually got a job? Or did you all come from study visas or family connections or asylum or you already had residency / work history in Canada etc Every story I read it's always "I came over on a study visa" or "My wife is Canadian" or something and it seems there's very few truckers who emigrated specifically to become a trucker.

And if there are any such people who've done it (with or without trucking experience in your home country), did you pay for the CDL course yourself or did your soon to be employer pay for it? The MELT course costs like $8,000 now...

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any advice.

 

[scylla]

Hi, first time posting and I'm losing my mind with frustration as everywhere I search there seems to be conflicting answers so I'm hoping to hear from someone who's actually done it. On one hand you have the people against immigration who'll say anything to turn you away and on the other you have the people who just guess and have never even emigrated, much less emigrated as a trucker so it's hard getting a legit reliable answer.

I'm a UK citizen living in the UK and want to become a truck driver in Canada, specifically Manitoba, Alberta or Saskatchewan. I'm NOT currently a truck driver in my home country and have no experience trucking but employers hire people without experience all the time right? Fresh out of CDL school.

Is there anyone who has literally flown to Canada, job hunted, found an employer willing to hire them, got a job offer, got a work permit, went through CDL school and actually got a job? Or did you all come from study visas or family connections or asylum or you already had residency / work history in Canada etc Every story I read it's always "I came over on a study visa" or "My wife is Canadian" or something and it seems there's very few truckers who emigrated specifically to become a trucker.

And if there are any such people who've done it (with or without trucking experience in your home country), did you pay for the CDL course yourself or did your soon to be employer pay for it? The MELT course costs like $8,000 now...

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any advice.

How old are you?

The challenge with simply coming over is that an employer needs to obtain an approved LMIA in order to hire you because you are not Canadian and before you can apply for a work permit. The LMIA process is a long process (4-6 months typically). Typically from what I've seen on this forum, those who have been successful in getting truck driver jobs have previous experience in the field in other countries.

Note that just coming over isn't an option right now due to COVID-19 and travel restrictions. So you could certainly try that path but will have to wait until the travel restrictions have been lifted.

 

[TruckerWannabe]

How old are you?

The challenge with simply coming over is that an employer needs to obtain an approved LMIA in order to hire you because you are not Canadian and before you can apply for a work permit. The LMIA process is a long process (4-6 months typically). Typically from what I've seen on this forum, those who have been successful in getting truck driver jobs have previous experience in the field in other countries.

Note that just coming over isn't an option right now due to COVID-19 and travel restrictions. So you could certainly try that path but will have to wait until the travel restrictions have been lifted.

I'm 32.

The LMIA shouldn't be a problem as there is a shortage of truck driving jobs so I'm confident any employer trying to hire a foreign truck driver has already experienced the difficulty to trying to fill the job with a local Canadian. I think there are something like 500+ current vacancies just in Alberta alone.

So my plan was to try and get a job offer, come back to the UK with offer in hand while the LMIA goes through the system and then fly back out there once I have the work permit and start my CDL course. But like I said trying to find genuine reliable information about

A) How likely the chances of an employer hiring someone without experience are; and
B) Do they pay for your CDL licence.

Even if they turn around and say "You need x amounts of experience in your home country" I'm fine with that but I've actually emailed at least 10 prominent trucking companies so far and not a single one has replied. I don't know if this is because they get spammed with people begging for a job or whatever but I think an in person chat with the hiring manager or someone would go a long way over a random email popping up in their inbox.

 

[scylla]

I'm 32.

The LMIA shouldn't be a problem as there is a shortage of truck driving jobs so I'm confident any employer trying to hire a foreign truck driver has already experienced the difficulty to trying to fill the job with a local Canadian. I think there are something like 500+ current vacancies just in Alberta alone.

So my plan was to try and get a job offer, come back to the UK with offer in hand while the LMIA goes through the system and then fly back out there once I have the work permit and start my CDL course. But like I said trying to find genuine reliable information about

A) How likely the chances of an employer hiring someone without experience are; and
B) Do they pay for your CDL licence.

Even if they turn around and say "You need x amounts of experience in your home country" I'm fine with that but I've actually emailed at least 10 prominent trucking companies so far and not a single one has replied. I don't know if this is because they get spammed with people begging for a job or whatever but I think an in person chat with the hiring manager or someone would go a long way over a random email popping up in their inbox.

Too bad about your age. If you were 30 or under, the IEC visa would be an option which would mean no requirement for an LMIA.

I can't help you with your other two questions but hopefully someone else will stop by who can.

Good luck.

 

[Buletruck]

Keep in mind unemployment rates have a direct effect on LMIA processing. Emphasis will be on getting Canadians and permenent residents I to available job openings.

 

[TruckerWannabe]

Too bad about your age. If you were 30 or under, the IEC visa would be an option which would mean no requirement for an LMIA.

I can't help you with your other two questions but hopefully someone else will stop by who can.

Good luck.

Yeah this is a bit of a pain, if I was younger I could even go for the super simple holiday working visa and be golden but such is life.

Keep in mind unemployment rates have a direct effect on LMIA processing. Emphasis will be on getting Canadians and permenent residents I to available job openings.

The LMIA is literally the least of my worries. There is a shortage of truckers which means there isn't enough Canadians to fill those positions so of course the LMIA will come back accepted. I spoke to one Canadian who said his company has 6 vacant tractor units sitting in the yard as they literally cannot find people to drive them... Honestly I'm not worried about the LMIA one bit.

 

[scylla]

The LMIA is literally the least of my worries. There is a shortage of truckers which means there isn't enough Canadians to fill those positions so of course the LMIA will come back accepted. I spoke to one Canadian who said his company has 6 vacant tractor units sitting in the yard as they literally cannot find people to drive them... Honestly I'm not worried about the LMIA one bit.

That's good news. The only issue you face right now is that coming to Canada as a visitor to speak with employers in person isn't possible. Hopefully that will change in a few months.

 

[Yqing237]

Yeah this is a bit of a pain, if I was younger I could even go for the super simple holiday working visa and be golden but such is life.



The LMIA is literally the least of my worries. There is a shortage of truckers which means there isn't enough Canadians to fill those positions so of course the LMIA will come back accepted. I spoke to one Canadian who said his company has 6 vacant tractor units sitting in the yard as they literally cannot find people to drive them... Honestly I'm not worried about the LMIA one bit.

Currently it is a good time to get LMIA and work permit for critical professions since all other applications are paused to prioritize those. It shouldn’t be hard to find an employer, just keeping sending your resumes non stop you’ll get interviews.

 

[TruckerWannabe]

Currently it is a good time to get LMIA and work permit for critical professions since all other applications are paused to prioritize those. It shouldn’t be hard to find an employer, just keeping sending your resumes non stop you’ll get interviews.

Are you speaking from experience as an immigrant in a similar position to myself or are you just guessing? To attend an interview I need to be in the country for a start which I'm not and I don't fancy forking out £800 for a flight + hotel fees + car hire etc to drive around contacting employers who will turn me away as I have no experience in my home country.

I'm still waiting for a reply from the companies I've already messaged so hopefully I hear back from them next week.

 

[Yqing237]

Are you speaking from experience as an immigrant in a similar position to myself or are you just guessing? To attend an interview I need to be in the country for a start which I'm not and I don't fancy forking out £800 for a flight + hotel fees + car hire etc to drive around contacting employers who will turn me away as I have no experience in my home country.

I'm still waiting for a reply from the companies I've already messaged so hopefully I hear back from them next week.

Try applying online and take interviews online. You cannot land in Canada right now.

 

[Ken2811]

Are you speaking from experience as an immigrant in a similar position to myself or are you just guessing? To attend an interview I need to be in the country for a start which I'm not and I don't fancy forking out £800 for a flight + hotel fees + car hire etc to drive around contacting employers who will turn me away as I have no experience in my home country.

I'm still waiting for a reply from the companies I've already messaged so hopefully I hear back from them next week.

Hi, did you get any luck from the employers? Did they get back to you with any positive feedback?

 

[TruckerWannabe]

Hi, did you get any luck from the employers? Did they get back to you with any positive feedback?

No unfortunately.

I email approximate 30 employers in 3 different provinces and I only got 4 replies, all of them saying they're not hiring foreign drivers even though on the job descriptions are tagged with "newcomers to Canada". I guess they mean people that have actually moved to Canada already.

TransX replied to me and say they're not recruiting foreign drivers at the moment but to check back in the future so there could be some hope. I guess this whole covid situation isn't helping either...

 

[Yqing237]

No unfortunately.

I email approximate 30 employers in 3 different provinces and I only got 4 replies, all of them saying they're not hiring foreign drivers even though on the job descriptions are tagged with "newcomers to Canada". I guess they mean people that have actually moved to Canada already.

TransX replied to me and say they're not recruiting foreign drivers at the moment but to check back in the future so there could be some hope. I guess this whole covid situation isn't helping either...

Yea, that makes sense, have you considered applying to permanent residence? Cuz it takes like 10 months pre-pandemic for employers to be able to hire a foreigner, no employers would like to wait this long if they can find local candidates.

 

[Ken2811]

No unfortunately.

I email approximate 30 employers in 3 different provinces and I only got 4 replies, all of them saying they're not hiring foreign drivers even though on the job descriptions are tagged with "newcomers to Canada". I guess they mean people that have actually moved to Canada already.

TransX replied to me and say they're not recruiting foreign drivers at the moment but to check back in the future so there could be some hope. I guess this whole covid situation isn't helping either...

Exactly, as i assumed. I live in Dubai and tried many months to figure out how to get into this trucking career. I have sent emails to many driving schools in canada to get proper info on obtaining the truck license as well. From my understanding and research, only if you have 2 years experience as a truck driver you have a confirmed chance to get PR and get hired. Once you land in canada you will have to take the mandatory classes, approximate time frame to finish one is around 3-6 months. This includes the Air Brakes as well. Second way is there are consultants with pre approved LMIA and charge you a crazy amount for it, and you get an LMIA approved with 2-3 months max. Even if i obtain a truck license from dubai, it does not make any difference in Canada and have to start over from scratch.

 

[TruckerWannabe]

Yea, that makes sense, have you considered applying to permanent residence? Cuz it takes like 10 months pre-pandemic for employers to be able to hire a foreigner, no employers would like to wait this long if they can find local candidates.

I can't get PR without first having a work permit and to get a job I need a job offer. It's really a catch 22 situation, kinda like when jobs want you to have experience but to get experience you need to do the job lol.

The job offer is literally part of the PR application process so there really is no way around it. If I had a family connection or a spouse then I could go down that route instead but I don't. Only option is to keep trying I guess.