Choosing between different schools [Need opinions].

Yes sorry I forgot you weren’t a new driver, just talking from my own experience.

 

You will now need 125 hours of training to get a license in Ontario (they just changed the law back in July IIRC). Just know also that if you move to another province, you may be required to pass their license exam to get a license there (i.e. Manitoba recently forced some people trying to scam the system by leaving the province to go to Kenora, ON to get their license to retest, and they failed and can no longer work).

Good luck, and go with the school that can actually teach you to be a professional driver and not just a window licking steering wheel holder.

They usually cost more money and take a bigger time commitment. But Manitoba is bringing in a new program that will cover EI costs for the training period AND pay for tuition for people looking for a career change but being unable to foot the bill to do it.

 

I highly recommend OTTA. I did not have any of the bad experiences of the previous poster, and felt well prepared for my test (well, maybe not at the time! But I passed without incident)

I found the staff to be very helpful, and that Yvette tries to pair you with instructors who will best suit your personality. My instructors were very laid-back. BTW, one way to get the most out of your driving school experience is to ask your instructors as many questions as you can. Much of truck driving isn't in the curriculum - and if given a chance they'll tell you all about how to actually move freight.

I also received the full driving instruction time. BTW, pre-trip inspections are not necessary for every trip. If you need to practice driving, they'll focus on that. If you need more help with inspections, they'll spend more time doing that.

You get what you pay for with driving schools. The best ones act as farm teams for the big carriers: you are transitioned into the training fleet that best suits your abilities. They'll set up the interview. So what this means is, treat the school experience the same way you'd treat a job. Be a professional. A lot of guys went to Kriska, Schneider and SGT2000 within a week or two of graduating. So no worry about jobs. If you pass the course, you're in.

My final take is this: a good training school will teach you how to truck safely. This is critical. Any PDTI and TTSAO will teach you that.

Best of luck. YMMV.

 

No. You can always find a job - the question is, with whom? The better the school you choose, the better the fleet you can walk into. That means better equipment and better pay. Also, a good fleet will take safety seriously. And with that you can keep your record clean - which is your meal card!

456765756 Ontario Inc. will take anyone who can walk. Chewing gum is not necessary. Neither is a pre-trip inspection. And when you take that piece of crap and get thrown under the bus at the scales, they'll throw you out and find another patsy.

I'd call the schools you're interested in and ask them about what fleets they actively recruit for (because that's what they do). Alternately, if there's a fleet you want to drive for, phone them and ask what schools they have a relationship with. (Not all fleets are training fleets, btw.)

P.S. If you've driven before you're going to find a lot of changes to the industry. You might also only need a refresher course. That will save you a lot of time and money. I'd discuss that with the schools before you decide.

 

The school I went to had several recruiters come visit as well in the lobby lots of brochures from companies who hire their grads.
I applied to a company whos brochure had what seemed the best start for a total newbie and thats where I am today. Some schools dont use standard transmissions and some companies dont want grads who have only driven automatics