Essential Skills - National Adult Literacy Database

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Essential Skills and the Northern Oil and Gas Workforce Final Report and Resource Guide
Day 1 SESSION 4:
APPROACHES TO ESSENTIAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
Presenter
#1:
Overview:
Linda Gauthier (Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council,
CTHRC)
Linda Gauthier, Executive Director of the CTHRC explained the role of the Council within the
trucking industry and some of the human resource challenges and opportunities the Council
encounters. She also provided an overview of training in the industry, the Council’s role in
developing training and the reasons essential skills are considered such an important
element of training programs.
CTHRC Background:
Created in 1994, the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC) is an
incorporated non-profit organization with a volunteer board of directors, representative of
stakeholders from the Canadian trucking industry. The mission of the Council is "to assist the
Canadian trucking industry to recruit, train and retain the human resources needed to meet
current and long-term requirements"
The CTHRC plays a national leadership role in coordinating human resources research and
development for the trucking industry. The Board of Directors includes representatives of the
Canadian Trucking Alliance, the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, unionized labour,
owner-operators, professional driver agencies, professional drivers, the insurance industry,
training institutions, the federal government, as well as provincial sector and sector-like
councils.
Historically, members of Canada's trucking industry have had few opportunities to upgrade
their skills or access professional development and training despite the fact that the industry
recognizes the need to increase the knowledge base and skill level of its members. The
CTHRC went to work to develop and to make available the best materials for professional
development and the upgrading of skills for members of today’s trucking industry. Graduates
of all CTHRC training programs receive a diploma stating that they are certified to the
applicable National Occupational Standard.
National Occupational Standards are documents and tools that serve as a roadmap for the
development of training programs, assessment tools, hiring, allocation of work, career
planning, etc. They are benchmarks, or points of reference against which occupations, and
the proficiency of people in those occupations are measured or assessed. All CTHRC National
Occupational Standards also contain Essential Skills Profiles, which are associated with the
specific occupation.
To date the CTHRC has developed National Occupational Standards for four occupations in
the industry: Professional Driver, Dispatcher, Professional Driver Trainer, and Transportation
Safety Professional.
For more information visit www.cthrc.com
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