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Driver Training School
Q. What style of instruction is offered at your school?
A. In class we limit the number of students to a maximum of six to allow for a more personalized style
of training. In-cab training is limited to a one-to-one ratio (one student and one instructor in the
tractor at one time). Training with more than one student in-cab at the same time is not productive –
none of the students receive adequate attention from the instructor if you try and have several
students in the tractor at the same time.
Q. What type of in-cab training do you teach?
A. We primarily focus our in-cab training on city driving. This is where a student needs to learn to
operate a tractor-trailer dealing with other vehicles, traffic signals, pedestrians, tight
intersections (for turning) etc. We also train a student how to properly enter/exit a highway but once
you have gotten a tractor/trailer up to highway speeds the only thing you can work on is keeping a unit
straight on the road. A student learning to operate a tractor/trailer needs to be challenged at all
times to advance the skills they are trying to develop – operating their unit in a city environment is
the best place to do this.
Q. How is your school is different from others?
A. We feel that our school is unique as we take a different approach to helping a student to learn how
to operate a tractor/trailer. Instead of just trying to help the student to be able to successfully
pass their Ontario Ministry of Transportation road examination, we instead try to give a student the
knowledge they will require in order to safely and successfully operate a commercial motor vehicle for
an employer after they have passed the MTO examination and now are trying to show the prospective
employer that you can meet that employer’s expectations. Too often a new driver has been told that they
need to be able to handle the equipment in a more experienced or knowledgeable manner.
Q. What are some of the topics that you train on beyond the basics?
A. A student cannot ever receive enough training on backing a tractor/trailer. We ask the students to
work on different backing tasks every day – the student will still need several months of on the job
additional practice to perfect this vital skill but at least they will have been exposed to the
challenges represented in getting their equipment safely into a dock situation. We have the students
back into both outside and inside building situations as well as gaining experience backing in between
other parked units. During our training we show the students how to verify that the
weight of their cargo is safely and legally distributed to meet the requirements of the various
federal, provincial and state regulations that they will be required to comply with. Should a new
driver find that their unit is out of tolerance they need to understand how to properly redistribute
the weight without having to physically unload the cargo. One topic that many
schools fail to train their students on is trip planning. A new driver needs to know how to properly
plan his/her trips from the place of loading to the end destination. They need to understand what all
needs to be considered before heading out on the highways with their freight – what routes to take,
what obstructions do they have to plan to avoid (low bridges, restricted routes etc), where they will
be able to stop to comply with federal hours of service regulations as well as planning when they will
need to depart to be able to reach their end destination on time. Kriska has put together a
comprehensive training package to allow their students to become confident in how to achieve this vital
part of moving cargo down the road efficiently. There are many other topics that we
provide training for – refrigerated and heated cargo transportation, three axle (tridem) trailer
handling just to name a few.
Q. Do you provide training for Dangerous Goods transportation?
A. Yes, we have a full day training module that provides a thorough understanding of how to comply with
the Canadian Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act as well as the United States Hazardous Goods
regulations that the students will be operating under as they begin their driving careers.
Q. What about training for the movement of freight between Canada and the
United States?
A. Kriska has a full day training module that provides full training on how to expedite the movement of
cargo between the US and Canada. This training package includes instruction on the new US/Canadian FAST
program that every driver needs to be in compliance with.
Q. Can Kriska guarantee employment for its students?
A. No. Under the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Private Career Colleges Act
any registered school cannot use a guarantee of employment as part of its enrollment package. However,
after graduating a student is welcome to apply for employment with our company.
Q. Why does Kriska operate an “AZ” driver training school?
A. Many years ago Kriska identified the need to find a way to locate new drivers that would be able to
operate our equipment in a proper and safe manner. We saw that there was going to be a need to find
drivers to replace personnel that would be retiring in the future as well to meet the needs of our
growing company. Therefore Kriska decided to design a training program that could be utilized to
prepare individuals to enter a new career with as much training and knowledge as possible to meet the
future needs in our industry.
Q. Is this a career for just anyone?
A. No! While almost anyone can be taught how to operate a tractor/trailer the career itself is not for
everyone. It takes a special type of person to do this type of work. The lifestyle of a person entering
this career will change drastically, as well as those that are around him or her (spouse, children,
other family members etc). A career in trucking can be both satisfying and rewarding but before someone
makes the final decision to proceed they need to carefully review their options. At Kriska we ask that
someone that is interested in taking training at our school, to come in first and discuss the career
and what effect it could have on them. This interview will normally take approximately an hour to
complete and we hope that by the time it is completed that the individual will have received sufficient
knowledge to make an informed decision as to whether a driving career is the right choice for him or
her.
Q. How can I obtain assistance towards my tuition costs?
A. There are several provincial and federal agencies where assistance might be available. Human
Resources Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) are two
of these agencies. You should check to see if you qualify for any form of funding assistance from any
agency that you have dealings with prior to looking for other means of assistance. Some banks have
student loans or student line of credit programs available that you could qualify for.
On occasion Kriska has been willing to assist individuals to be able to attend our training program. If
we feel that an individual who cannot obtain assistance from any other source will be a definite asset
to our industry we may be to assist him/her towards their career goal by deferring a portion of the
tuition cost until after the course is completed. As has been previously stated, due to the Ontario
Private Career Colleges Act, Kriska Training Systems is unable to guarantee employment to any school
graduate. If Kriska were to consider allowing a student to defer a portion of the tuition cost, the
balance of the tuition that was owing would have to be paid to our company as per the conditions of the
agreement that would be signed regardless of whether or not the student obtains employment with Kriska
Holdings Ltd. For further details concerning this possible assistance please enquire during our initial
interview.
Q. What are your upcoming school dates?
A. In 2005 we will be holding training sessions on the following dates:
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