*Please note: Candidates cannot be full time employees of the company at time of application.

Overview

The BC Trucking Association Mandatory Entry Level Training Grant Opportunity (Grant Opportunity) provides funding to motor carrier members to support relevant skills training for unemployed or currently underemployed employees to the needs of the business and the participant’s job. The BC Trucking Association (BCTA) will act as the administrator for this Grant Opportunity and funds accessed will be used to pay for Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT) throughout BC. 

BCTA is only administering grant funds and not the grant program. The Grant Opportunity is only open to BCTA members.

BCTA motor carrier members will be required to recruit and identify candidates for MELT. This Grant Opportunity is not available to candidates who will be retained or hired as an independent /owner operator. Candidates cannot be full-time employed at any company at the time of the application.  Candidates must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected persons (as designated under the Canada Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, are eligible provided they have a valid work permit and a study permit if the skills training is longer than six months).  

The motor carrier member will provide information as required by BCTA and provide written confirmation of intent to hire the candidate upon successful completion of MELT.

BCTA will evaluate the application against preset criteria and if successful, will then identify and directly fund a MELT training opportunity for the candidate. Upon successful completion and issuance of a Class 1 licence, and in the absence of unanticipated events, the candidate will be hired by the motor carrier member. Employers must intend to hire and continue to employ participants in BC.

It is expected that all parties of the Grant Opportunity act with transparency and integrity in every element of the process. Participating motor carriers and driving schools must be BCTA members in good standing and are subject to BCTA’s Code of Conduct. Any breach of the terms and conditions of this Grant Opportunity may lead to all parties involved facing enforcement including:

• suspension/cancellation of eligibility to participate
• cancellation of BCTA membership
• referral for federal and/or provincial regulatory review, inspection and/or enforcement
• referral for criminal prosecution 

Motor Carrier Role

BCTA motor carrier members are eligible to apply for funding through the Grant Opportunity. To do so, motor carrier members must identify individual candidates and assess their suitability. The carrier is entirely responsible to assess the candidate’s skill, aptitude, attitude, and professional experience. The carrier may indicate in their recruitment process that they intend to apply to the Grant Opportunity.

Motor carrier suitability will be evaluated by BCTA staff, with oversight from the BCTA Human Resource Committee. Decisions to allocate funding will be made with the consideration of:

• The motor carrier’s human resource policies, as demonstrated by designations such as “Top Fleet”
• The motor carrier’s compliance record, including a review of provincial employment standards/ESDC proceedings and enforcement and WorkSafeBC compliance
• The geographic operating location of the motor carrier, as regional diversification is a core objective of the Grant Opportunity
• Availability of funding

Motor Carrier Process

Motor carrier members are responsible for identifying and recruiting candidates. The carrier may indicate in their recruitment process that they intend to access grant funding from the BCTA. 

Once the candidate is identified, motor carriers must provide BCTA with:

• Confirmation that the Candidate is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or protected person (as designated under the Canada Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, are eligible provided they have a valid work permit and a study permit if the skills training is longer than six months) 
• Candidate’s contact information
• Copy of candidate’s current driver’s licence
• Copy of candidate’s medical certification (can be currently omitted)
• Copy of candidate’s driver’s abstract
• Class 1 Learners permit
• Detailed National Safety Code profile including enforcement status, fleet size, and a “satisfactory” rating
• WorkSafeBC (WSBC) clearance letter
• Previous year’s WSBC experience rating letter
• Letter confirming intent to hire the Candidate upon successful completion of MELT, including proposed rate and methodology of remuneration (Appendix A)

*Note: All information must be provided before any consideration will be given for funding.

Once all the information is received, BCTA will determine carrier and candidate eligibility and will evaluate opportunities for funding. If funding is secured, BCTA will issue confirmation to:

• The carrier- confirming funding, dates, timelines and follow up provisions
• The candidate- confirming eligibility for funding and providing training contact information
• The driving school- confirming candidate eligibility

Candidate

• Candidates who will be retained or hired as an independent /owner operator are not eligible
• Candidates cannot be full-time employees of any company at time of application
• Candidates must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected persons (as designated under the Canada Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, are eligible provided they have a valid work permit and a study permit if the skills training is longer than six months)
• Candidates may be employed* or unemployed, may already work for the motor carrier but in a different capacity, or may be a new hire.

*The objective of this grant is to assist unemployed or underemployed British Columbians into sustainable employment by participating and completing skills training. This grant is designed for those who are unemployed, part-time, seasonal, casual, or precariously employed to help participants obtain sustainable employment as quickly as possible. 

If employed, the applicant must be:

• Part-time: refers to those working less than 30 hours per week
• Casual or on-call work employment: refers to persons working only when needed, often on short notice
• Precarious employment: employment that is unstable due to circumstances (such as having just cause to leave one's employment, having received a lay-off notice, self-employment income is below the poverty line, the job is likely to be replaced with automation, an industry shutdown is imminent or there have been changes in the marketplace due to a natural disaster like a pandemic)

Participants who are employed full-time are not eligible for training. You may wish to apply for the BC Employer Training Grant for those who are full time employed.

• Candidates must be able to attend training as required and must be eligible to be licensed at the end of training
• Candidates are expected to make their best efforts to attend and complete all online, in class, in yard and on the road training as prescribed
• Candidates are not permitted to contribute, directly or indirectly, to the cost of the training. Any contribution directly or in kind may be determined to be a breach of the terms of this Grant Opportunity, resulting in the parties involved facing enforcement as noted above

Driving Schools

• Driving schools and driving instructors must be certified by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia to deliver MELT
• Driving schools must be BCTA members and are subject to BCTA’s Code of Conduct       

To Apply

Only BCTA Carrier Members can email melt@bctrucking.com to receive the 2024 BCTA MELT Grant Funding Application Package.