Have you ever wanted a change? Erika Turai sure did when she moved to London. She was working a dead-end job for years, but wanted to find a career that would really take her somewhere.  She started to do her research and with the help of WIL Employment Connections, was able to retrain at the Ontario Truck Driving School (with financial support) through the Second Career Program.

“Without Second Career there would be no way I could have afforded the cost of retraining. I’m so grateful for the support I received and the best part is, I now have a job that lets me be my own boss and gives me the freedom to make my own schedule,” said Turai.

The Ontario Truck Driving School works closely with employers in the industry to supply them with the skilled people they need for occupations that are in demand. According to Kate Klepadlo, who leads recruiting at Elgin Motor Freight, they hire over half of their employees from the school because they come well prepared with the skills and knowledge of their occupation.

“We also continue to retrain our employees about every three months, to ensure they are up-to-date with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed within the industry,” said Klepadlo.

Unlike Erika, Tomasz Bumbul knew he wanted to get into the trucking industry, but wasn’t sure how he would pay for the training. He visited the London Training Centre, where they guided him through the Second Career process. He went through training at the Ontario Truck Driving School and was able to find employment at Elgin Motor Freight following one of their job fairs held at the school.

On the other hand, you have Yoandris Castro. Castro was driving a truck in the oil-sands in Alberta when he was laid-off. Castro moved back to London and went to the London Training Centre for advice. He found out about the Second Career program and was able to off-set some of the costs of getting his AZ license and gain the skills he needed to join Elgin Motor Freight as well. He has his sights on moving up within the company and is hoping to become an owner/operator of his own truck one day.

For more information on the Second Career program click here.

To learn more about the occupations in demand or local resources click here.

Tricia Flatley
Communications Officer
Elgin Middlesex Oxford Workforce Planning and Development Board

Read this article at the Local Employment Planning Council website HERE.