For Chelsey Leitch, the motivation was simple: she wanted to do more on the family farm. But getting a Class 1 license felt daunting right up and until she started her training with the North Peace Commercial Driving Academy.

In a brief conversation just days ahead of her Class 1 road test, Chelsey said that if the opportunity to train in Grimshaw had not existed, she likely would not have gotten her Class 1 license. The difference between possibility and reality, it turns out, can be as small as proximity and access.

Through the Academy’s Youth Commercial Driver Pathway, funded by an Alberta government Industry Advancement Grant, Chelsey found both. This pathway was designed to remove barriers that keep young people living in rural northern Alberta from pursuing commercial driving careers in agriculture, transportation, and energy sectors.

Building Confidence, One Shift at a Time

Chelsey's experience in the program reveals how committed the team at the North Peace Commercial Driving Academy are to training youth and young adults, like Chelsey.

"It's pretty intimidating at first, but with time it feels better," she explains. "The more you practice the better you will get at it."

Chelsey officially passed her Class 1 driving exam at the end of August, and is now an Alberta Class 1 driver.

Chelsey's success is exactly what the Youth Commercial Driver Pathway was built to achieve. By bringing quality training to northern Alberta, the program transforms a distant dream for rural youth into an achievable goal.

The Youth Commercial Driver Pathway is supported by an Industry Advancement Grant from the Government of Alberta's Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors. The program provides early awareness training, simulator instruction, and maneuvering yard practice to youth and underrepresented individuals pursuing Class 1 driving careers in Alberta's transportation, agriculture, forestry, and energy sectors.