Class 1a License Holder But No Experience

Hello, im new here i live in canada, i would like to ask question, im a Class 1a license holder, but no experience what tips can u give, i had my 1A license since Apr. 2016, the driving school i went thru at that time wasn’t reliable i mean, they offer cheap course, basically they just taught me how to pass the test, so by the time i graduated i wasn’t confident to drive for an employer, fast forward to 2020 now 2021, updated my medical and my dad got a volvo vnl super 10 transmission thats where i practice on when we get time, any canadian members here can give tips, i’ve heard or watch that the first year is going to be tuff , what is your advices, thanks in advance...

by the time i graduated i wasn’t confident to drive for an employer

There is absolutely nothing unusual about your circumstance. All you can expect from a truck driving school is to get to the point where you can pass the driving test to get your CDL - That is what they are designed to accomplish. You've been sitting around for five years claiming you don't have the confidence to do this. There is more to this story than even you realize. Your lack of confidence cannot be blamed on the school. I know you said...

the driving school i went thru at that time wasn’t reliable i mean, they offer cheap course, basically they just taught me how to pass the test

It appears to me that they were very reliable. I am guessing that you have convinced yourself that the school is your problem. I am not convinced. You got the license. You didn't go get the job. Perhaps you don't really want the job. I don't know, but this sounds very odd. Nobody is confident in their talents or skills as a professional driver of a CMV just because they went through a truck driving school. They don't even offer to help you get confident. They offer the help to get your CDL, and apparently they did a great job at that - you got it!

There is precious little difference between driving truck in Canada or the USA. It takes some confidence in either country. How do we gain that confidence? We go get a job. Once we have gathered the courage and the commitment to taking that step, we start our actual training. That is where we just start beginning to gain a little confidence. I don't know a single driver who started his driving career with a load of confidence. Most of us started with fear and trepidation. We started because we wanted it. We started because we made a commitment to better ourselves. Commitment comes long before confidence.

You will not gain confidence by playing around with your Daddy's new truck. Go get a real driving job if you can. It won't be easy with that stale CDL you've been holding. Most employers want current experience or a recent truck driving school graduation certificate.

Make the Commitment you need and put in the hard work that produces confidence. There is no other path to confidence or competence.

Exactly what he said^^^^^^^^^^ word for word.

The only way to gain confidence is by driving which equals experience. Nobody comes out of truck driving school with much confidence or experience.

Ryan you passed Step One when your school trained you will enough to get you Commercial Driver License. That's all they are paid to do. I am a CDL instructor. I'm happy when any student passes their CDL exam and gets the full license. I also tell them they aren't really ready to pull a trailer across the USA (Canada in your case).

The companies that hire recent grads know this too. Then comes Step Two: it's common practice for any company to put a new driver with an experienced trainer for several weeks or several thousand miles to get the experience that's impossible to put into a book or to teach in a class.

Since your training was five years ago and you haven't driven since (driving around with Dad counts for nothing), I would not be surprised at all if any company you apply to will require you to take the full course again

by the time i graduated i wasn’t confident to drive for an employer

There is absolutely nothing unusual about your circumstance. All you can expect from a truck driving school is to get to the point where you can pass the driving test to get your CDL - That is what they are designed to accomplish. You've been sitting around for five years claiming you don't have the confidence to do this. There is more to this story than even you realize. Your lack of confidence cannot be blamed on the school. I know you said...

the driving school i went thru at that time wasn’t reliable i mean, they offer cheap course, basically they just taught me how to pass the test

It appears to me that they were very reliable. I am guessing that you have convinced yourself that the school is your problem. I am not convinced. You got the license. You didn't go get the job. Perhaps you don't really want the job. I don't know, but this sounds very odd. Nobody is confident in their talents or skills as a professional driver of a CMV just because they went through a truck driving school. They don't even offer to help you get confident. They offer the help to get your CDL, and apparently they did a great job at that - you got it!

There is precious little difference between driving truck in Canada or the USA. It takes some confidence in either country. How do we gain that confidence? We go get a job. Once we have gathered the courage and the commitment to taking that step, we start our actual training. That is where we just start beginning to gain a little confidence. I don't know a single driver who started his driving career with a load of confidence. Most of us started with fear and trepidation. We started because we wanted it. We started because we made a commitment to better ourselves. Commitment comes long before confidence.

You will not gain confidence by playing around with your Daddy's new truck. Go get a real driving job if you can. It won't be easy with that stale CDL you've been holding. Most employers want current experience or a recent truck driving school graduation certificate.

Make the Commitment you need and put in the hard work that produces confidence. There is no other path to confidence or competence.

search Skyways Truck Driving School and see for yourself,sir..

The only way to gain confidence is by driving which equals experience. Nobody comes out of truck driving school with much confidence or experience.

Ok, thanks, i will still keep applying, im ready to commit myself for this, i love driving..

search Skyways Truck Driving School and see for yourself,sir..

Ryan, our every effort is to help you become a professional driver. It's not easy. We understand that. You have made it more difficult by playing the blame game. It's something we teach people to avoid. It has kept you out of a rewarding career. Until you recognize that, your trucking career will be cursed with little or no success.

Trucking requires a real desire and commitment. Saying "I love to drive" will never get you anywhere. That's why you've been holding that 1A license for 5 years without ever receiving a paycheck for your results. You haven't produced any results. You've just been blaming the lousy school you attended.

There was no reason at all for me to search your school. I've been in this game for a great while. I know and recognize all the excuses. Just to be generous with you, I took your bait. I searched for your school. It's funny - that lousy school was still in business! In fact they had a 5 star rating with some glowing reviews!

Somebody paid them to help you get licensed, and they did their job. I'd say they are very reliable. Now the question is why don't you have a job? Could it be... no surely not... let's not even go there. I copied a random review for your benefit. It was short and to the point.

Did my 1A with this guy's. Everything was good and some times even fun 🙂. Special thanks to teachers.

That sentiment was dispersed throughout the other reviews.

When you find out how much difficulty you are having getting a job with a five year old unused license, you can come back here for some more advice. We will be able to help you once you've given up playing the blame game.

thanks sir, im guessing they’re better now because since March 15,2019 SGI and Government of Saskatchewan implemented the Mandatory Entry Level Training , here in Saskatchewan , so ok, i want to ask question how do i get experience when companies require minimum 2 yrs. experience??

how do i get experience when companies require minimum 2 yrs. experience??

Ryan, I am not that familiar with the companies in Canada, but here in the states there are a lot of companies that require two years experience. There are also a lot of the larger companies that offer training for new drivers. I am fairly certain that it works that same way in Canada. You may not think those are the best companies to work for, but they are generally very good places to get started at, and they are usually great places to stay at.

You have to realize they are taking a huge chance on most rookie drivers. You have to take what you can get. Move on from the companies that require 2 years experience and start focusing on the places that hire rookies. Get your experience established and then you can look into other places.