Chloe Reitlo’s eyes are on the road. Her hands grip the wheel as she manoeuvres her truck through city streets, watching for changing lights and traffic up ahead, and cranking the wheel to make it through tight urban turns.
As a Grade 8 student, Reitlo is too young for a driver’s licence, but she and 65-plus other local students got a glimpse of life on the road by trying out a truck-driving simulator.
Instructors from First Class Training Centre, a driver-training centre focused on the trucking industry, have been travelling throughout Manitoba to introduce students and adults to skills and careers in trucking.
On Wednesday, the instructors parked their 48-foot mobile classroom outside of École McIsaac School, and students who had signed up to try the simulator hopped aboard.
The classroom is outfitted on a tractor-trailer equipped with a simulator room and a small classroom with a screen, where students can watch live as their peers navigate through the simulation.
“The kids love it – it’s a big video game to them,” said Jim Campbell, president of the training centre, who was in Flin Flon leading the simulations.
Campbell said there is a growing demand for workers in the trucking industry, with baby boomers shifting to retirement and semi-retirement.
By introducing the idea of trucking to kids at a young age, Campbell hopes to build interest and “open up horizons.”
The simulator was open to Flin Flon School Division elementary and high school students, and was organized by Alex Béasse, career development coordinator with the school division, with support from Cam Mateika, director of research and technology at Swan River School Division.
“We organized the northern tour as an opportunity for students to learn about the industry,” said Béasse. “They are saying there is a need for 15,000 to 20,000 drivers by 2020. It’s also one of the few careers where there is pay equity between men and women.”
Campbell and instructor Tomas Lesik also planned to invite members of the public to try out the simulator at the Flin Flon Community Hall parking lot on Thursday.
