The Canadian Government has announced a $46 million investment to train and recruit new truck drivers and other transport workers.

Canada’s trucking industry is facing as many as 55,000 job openings by the end of the year.

The funding is tapped for the nonprofit Trucking Human Resources Canada’s Career ExpressWay Program, with participants receiving training and on-the-job work experience to prepare them for a career in the trucking sector.

“Without truckers, groceries wouldn’t make it to the shelves of our local supermarkets and builders wouldn’t get the supplies they need,” said Carla Qualtrough, Canada’s minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion.

“We’re investing in Trucking HR to make sure the industry can support truckers and the workers who help them by equipping them with the training and skills they need to meet the demand we know is there.”

The project will provide training and wage subsidies to support the recruitment, instruction and onboarding of up to 1400 new truck drivers and 1200 workers for other in-demand occupations in the commercial trucking industry.

The funds will allow Trucking Human Resources Canada (THRC) to scale up its Career ExpressWay driver training programme. It will also support the participation of women and other equity-deserving groups in the trucking sector,by building on the organisation’s successful Women with Drive initiative.

Canadian employers are seeking to fill over 1 million job vacancies, with truck driver positions totaling 26,900 of those.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) forecasts that the country’s industry will have a shortage of 55,000 workers at the end of 2023.

“CTA and the provincial associations have worked very hard to raise awareness to the federal  government of the need to bring in new employees, including safe and professionally trained drivers who can be deployed in support of our customers and the supply chain,” said Greg Munden, chair of the CT.

In November, the government also opened up its Express Entry immigration programme to truck drivers from other countries, allowing foreign truckers the opportunity to apply for permanent residency.