CHET Continues to Adapt and Expand into 2021
As a small business and private career college, CHET, had some obstacles to overcome during the pandemic. As health and safety at the top of our priorities, we made the required adjustments in order to ensure that we can still operate as an essential service as well as protect our students, staff and instructors. We have continued to make adjustments to take into account regulations by the Government of Ontario for a safer training place.
In addition to our strict code of health measures to enter the school which includes a signed declaration of health questions and a temperature check, we have further restricted class sizes. Both in class and in the yard training is set to a maximum of 5 people including the instructor. Masks must be worn by all individuals, social distancing measures maintained and hygiene protocols are enforced.
Our facility is regularly sanitized by a professional cleaning crew. We have additional help during the day to ensure sanitation through the shop. CHET’s training facility shares its terminal with Musket’s head office for the repairs department and main garage. Our Virage Truck Simulators have their own sanitation stations and the Virtual Reality (VR) Simulator Training system has 2 layers of protection when donning the head set. There is a fabric barrier, and a cotton insert to block any penetration of pathogens.
In our trucks, we have a bacterial cleanse between lessons, and both the students and instructors must wear facial protection when in the yard or in the truck. CHET Management has also staggered times for lessons so that there are fewer students in the lobby and/or computer lab. Students can also log in from home to use our online learning system, the student portal. These changes have made a significant impact on staff and students as it has prevented crowding in the terminal.
What has set CHET apart from many other truck driver training schools was our early investments made in simulator technology. We are currently the only school in Ontario regularly using 4 simulators in our training curriculum. We have been told by the manufacturer that we are the ONLY school in Canada using a multi headset VR simulator.
Learn more about our Tractor Trailer Simulator Training Program here.
CHET has continued to service our corporate partners with training on and off site as well as gaining new partners. Our latest partner, Cutler TCMS, has an excellent proprietary Professional Driver Improvement Program (PDIP) plan. We will facilitate Cutler’s Road Tests and subsidiary training. Their PDIP includes Pre Trip Inspection Requirements, Air Brake Inspections, Defensive Driving and the Road Test. This allegiance with Cutler will take us into many new companies for training and on-site road tests.
Our Operations Manager, Philip Fletcher, continues to be active in the truck training community through his role at the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (TTSAO). In addition to our standard training programs and clinics, Phil secured us a training and employment opportunity with Dufferin Concrete. As we continue to expand our training services, we recently acquired a new cement mixer and look to expand to a new terminal in the upcoming months.
In part of our commitment to community based projects, we are rolling out student and Musket driver training provided by Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT). Prior to the pandemic, Musket and CHET Management attended meetings with MPP Kusendova and later on with Minister Mulroney regarding human trafficking in Ontario. We are proud to be affiliated with TAT and look forward to the launch of TAT training and certification at both our private career college and private carrier.
