Jobs in the road transport industry

Jobs in the road transport industry

The road transport industry covers several sectors of activity and, whether it is a sedentary or a mobile job, in an office or outdoors, anyone can find what best suits his/her personality and expectations. There are many needs in the road transport industry and job perspectives are excellent because of the lack of qualified staff.

A road transport job: truck driver

This is one of the most requested sectors. Although often unknown to young people, there are nevertheless very attractive career opportunities.

You will have a wide choice! Indeed, road shipping caters for:

Local or long distance transport

Local road transport enables you to remain within a defined sector whilst long distance shipping means driving many kilometres and gives you an opportunity to discover other regions or other countries, whether it be to deliver a single load (TL transport),  or several different loads (transport LTL) or even courier services.

Driving specialized vehicles

Road transport of goods gives drivers the opportunity to drive many types of vehicles:

• Trailer-trucks,
• Different-sized vans,
• Platform trucks (maritime containers, forestry products, etc.)
• Tankers for bulk goods (road transport of fuel, gas, dairy produce, etc.)
• Dump trucks (sand, rocks, etc.)
• Refrigerated or controlled temperature trucks (fresh produce)

Many other types of vehicles exist in the sector of road transport of goods. Job requirements may vary according to the specificities of the trucks (special licenses) or the goods (dangerous products etc.). So there is always the possibility to specialize and acquire new skills.

A job in the road transport industry: mechanic.

This includes the mechanics of heavy vehicles or trailers. It involves not only doing general maintenance on vehicles, implementing preventative maintenance but also working on breakdowns. There are some specialisations (diesel engines, electronic checks, etc.). It is a constantly evolving job thanks to new technology and the challenges which the road transport industry is facing regarding environmental protection (clean energies).

A job in the road transport industry: transport logistics

If you prefer a more administrative job you can choose the job of logistics dispatcher!

Be careful however: administrative does not mean restful! Quite the contrary! As the essential element of the logistics chain, you will optimize loads and itineraries for the goods to be delivered just in time and at minimal cost!

Shipping logistics jobs include several professions. You can for example become a logistics officer for the Canadian Forces, customs broker, freighter, logistics manager, etc. It is an exciting field and can lead the way to a multitude of opportunities.

A job in the road transport industry: handling

This covers the job of forklift truck driver, goods preparer, handler, mover and truck loader. These are often physical jobs which require a lot of energy but also a lot of thoroughness.

As you have probably realized, there are an infinite number of job possibilities in the road transport sector. I recommend that you keep an eye on the website for the sector committee for the labour force in the Quebec road shipping industry which recently set up a survey to better understand the situation in this sector and sum up its requirements and perspectives. The results are expected in April!