It's been 25 years since Commercial Heavy Equipment Training Ltd. opened their doors and was the first truck driving school to be set up for use for any carrier in Ontario. While their model has been copied many times since 1997, CHET continues to push the boundaries of heavy equipment training and education.
As a sister company to Musket Transport, CHET joined the TTSAO (Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario) in 1999 and to this day remains to be the longest continuous member. In 1997, the school launched with just 3 employees. Today there are 11 team members and 6 instructors and the school averages 200 students per year.
"Working at CHET has been a very demonstrative experience for me in terms of learning how to teach and train correctly" stated Phil Fletcher, Operations Manager for CHET. "My goal in coaching is to be uplifting and, ultimately, to get the students properly licensed so they can be as effective as possible."
Early on, CHET expanded to provide training to Toronto Hydro and other corporate entities, growing to include a head office and school facility. The school itself allowed Musket Transport to expand, as many students who graduated were hired, growing Musket's fleet and contributing to them becoming one of the top 100 carriers in Canada.
Technological advancements in training at the school include the inclusion of two (soon to be three) Virage simulators, making CHET one of the first adopters of this technology, providing students with virtual reality training simulations. The tech further expanded in 2020 with specific coding utilized to create a tanker simulation, making CHET the first school in Canada to virtually replicate surge and slosh through simulation.
This technology combined with the curriculum allows CHET to train new drivers with specific qualifications for the job (i.e. Air Liquide, new AZ tanker sim, etc.). The international office for Air Liquide has approved CHET's training program to give new drivers the necessary experience to complete their job requirements.
"CHET's corporate training has really been taking off," says Fletcher, "and we've been contracted by companies such as Air Liquide, Budget, G.F.L., and more, who are looking for complete, safe, and productive driver training for their employees. Another perk is that insurance companies are eager to see these mentorship programs which are overseen by the TTSAO (Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario), as the TTSAO provides an impartial third-party seal of approval."
With a free simulator on the way, courtesy of the federal government and in association with Humber College, and tuition now OSAP eligible through the Ontario provincial government and the 'Micro-credentials strategy' for private institutions, after 25 years CHET continues to drive at the forefront of training excellence.