UK/European Drivers in Canada

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
41

bullitt:

agritelbill:
…Avg paycheck after taxes (NET) is about $1500.00-$2000.00…

Is that per week, fortnight, month…■■

Am guessing it’s bi monthly ,Canadians don’t know what a fortnight is (honestly), so in your bank on the 15th and 30th of the month . Don’t make the mistake of thinking new arrivals walk into the best paying jobs , they do not , and unless I’m mistaken this isn’t one of them .
However , if you can afford to subsidize yourself and are seriously interested in the move , get yourself to the job fair in London and see what’s on offer .No pain no gain .

42

flat to the mat:

bullitt:

agritelbill:
…Avg paycheck after taxes (NET) is about $1500.00-$2000.00…

Is that per week, fortnight, month…■■

Am guessing it’s bi monthly ,Canadians don’t know what a fortnight is (honestly), so in your bank on the 15th and 30th of the month . Don’t make the mistake of thinking new arrivals walk into the best paying jobs , they do not , and unless I’m mistaken this isn’t one of them .
However , if you can afford to subsidize yourself and are seriously interested in the move , get yourself to the job fair in London and see what’s on offer .No pain no gain .

FTTM,
What “buying power” would $700/1000cdn per week give you??

I don’t mean to exchange said amount into £s but say would $700home in Canada “buy” you a similar weeks worth of family outgoings/spending similar to £500 in UK??

Sent from my SM-J500FN using Tapatalk

43

agritelbill:
Wow - I just came back to have a look at this post and there’s some great responses with questions, concerns and general comments. I apologize as I thought this thing would send me emails when people posted, but ended up it didn’t, otherwise I would have responded sooner!

Take a look at your user control panel, changing the settings should allow you to receive an email when someone responds to your posts. Likewise subscribing to a thread using the thread tools will get you a similar email. The subscribe option is at the bottom of the page

44

1500-2000 CAD per month is very low pay if is per month. May be is for 2 weeks, or at least I hope so. With rent on decent home 1000-1300 CAD per month, I dont know how can anyone survive on 1500. We are talking about long haul - min. 20 days, but more likely 40 days on average on the road - no life at all, should be payed double that.
I’ve done this job before in the States, its not for everyone, what I mean is not the actual work, everyone can drive truck, its the good things in life you miss - birthdays of friends/relatives, going out with mates, holidays, events. I’ve work on my birthday(1000miles) away from home, worked on Christmas, worked when wanted to go at Metallica concert etc.
This type of trucking is for specific people(young single or older with grown kids and liking over the road work), may be thats why Canadian companies cant find people in Canada(most have young kids). Also once they approve you for work visa(or PR) you are bound to work for the set company in order to keep your immigration status(thats the regional nominee program).
Good luck for anyone trying, job is good, you learn a lot, it gives you a lot but also takes. If you are the point of your life where this job will suit your need its match made in heaven - open road, no boss on your head, no city traffic, every day different town and State and great open minded people with big smiles on their faces.

45

All is forgiven even if you were single and free if that’s a monthly check you would need your head tested to work for that little money no wonder they can’t get drivers In there own country
That’s the kind of thing that makes you glad you’re working for buttons here because you get home most times

46

This is what it says on their website.

•Starting wage range $4,000 to $5,500 monthly for 45 to 60 hours per week.
•Average 11,000 to 13,000 miles per month.
•$20 to $100 paid live picks and drops.
•$10 to $100 paid loaded border crossings.
•$200 Paid Statutory Holidays.
•4% vacation pay
•Paid biweekly through direct deposit.
•Monthly, quarterly and yearly bonuses paid over and above your base pay.
•Employee referral program – you get paid to recruit.
•Health and Dental benefits available after 3 months of employment.
•All newer Kenworth units (fleet average age is 2012).
•Satellite communications.
•Company iPads supplied for paperless communication.
•Average length of trips are 15-30 days.

$4000 per month works out around £2.5k.

47

Sorry for the confusion - $1,500-2,000 is Bi-weekly (Paid every other week) and is AFTER taxes have been removed. If we only paid that per month, I think we’d be thrown in jail for breaking some type of labour law!

In regards to the PR comment, once you get your PR status, you don’t have to stay with us - we just hope that you would! It is during the application process that you can’t change jobs. I can see where this is probably the thing that could get drivers upset if they join a company that “sells” them on a big dreamy idea and then when they move over, it turns out to be something different. Hence the reason why I’m always offering up my email address in the chance someone wants to know the details of the role, I’ll always be available to have a transparent discussion with them on the job. (billh@agritel.ca if anyone has questions!)

One of the responses hit it on the head for the most part, besides being on the road for 40 days. Our guys are on the road between 20-25 days, but the stuff regarding that it takes a certain type of driver in a certain stage of their life is correct. We don’t want to break up families or have someone commit to something to get over here and then change their mind once they get trained and rolling. Oh yeah, that’s something I forgot to say…we train our drivers on site instead of making them go to a driver’s school and pay out of their own pocket, thus saving them several thousands of dollars!

48

Dolph:
Interesting thread. I might help with some info regarding emigrating to Canada with Permanent residency via Provincial Nominee Program.
I don’t know if you can work trucking in Canada on work visa, my info is only for permanent residency. The whole process is expensive, long and with a lot of restrictions, for example EU licence is not recognized at all, you need everything from scratch.
In July(I think) 2017 Canada introduces mandatory truck driving school lessons in order to obtain CDL - this cost money;
renting a flat - deposit, rent in advance etc - a lot of money.
buying a car from day one - money
visas, tickets, food etc. Are you OK with several months when the temp does not go over -10C!
Also bear in mind that trucking in North America has NOTHING to do with UK and Europe in general - weather, traffic, length of trips, rules. You might be on the road for weeks and not see your family. Most of the people in this forum like to sleep in their beds every day, thats great, but forget it if you plan to go to Canada/US.

I will post the email an immigration lawyer I’ve contacted sent me last Monday, you make your conclusions. The information is for Permanent Residency in Saskatchewan for Long Haul trucking Provincial Nominee Program. I’ve deleted only my and the lawyer names.

"Thank you for your email.

Given that regulations, programs, and procedures are constantly evolving to fit Canada’s needs. No one can say with certainty what it will take to qualify a month or a year from now. Therefore, I would suggest that you contact my law firm again closer to the time you feel ready enough to proceed. At that time, I would be able to re-evaluate your options and provide you with the most up to date information.

However, to give you a rough idea of how the process works, I have gone ahead and provided you with the answers to your questions in the sections below. Of course, these figures are subject to change in the future.

Express Entry is two-part process. First, candidates who are eligible for one of Canada’s federal economic immigration programs submit a profile. Next, the highest-ranked candidates are drawn from the pool and issued Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for Canadian permanent residence. At the ITA stage, candidates have only 90 days submit a complete application for Canadian permanent residence.

At this time, you would be hiring our firm for the first (pre-ITA) part of the process. We try to keep our fees as low as possible and encourage clients to hire us for the part of the Express Entry process where they can immediately benefit from our assistance.

As soon as a client begins working with our firm under this Express Entry contract, we guide them with the collection of their documents and preparation of their profiles. Our service also involves helping our clients take steps to improve their ranking scores by providing clients with language resources, updates about Provincial Nominee Programs as well as Job Bank assistance and Job search resources. Our service also involves a review of clients’ supporting documents, test scores, and credential assessment(s).

Our goal is to assist our clients in submitting a strong and accurate profile, to help maximize our clients’ chance of receiving an ITA, and to put our clients in a position to react quickly if or when they receive an ITA. To date, most of our clients who have received ITAs have also chosen to continue working with our firm throughout the remainder of the application process.

When one of our clients obtains his or her ITA, he or she then has two choices:

1- Hire our law firm for the remainder of the process, under a new contract, so that we can guide him or her in accepting the ITA and submitting the documents we have reviewed in an application for permanent residence.

2- Not hire our firm, in which case our former clients may still benefit from and make use of the documentation we have reviewed. If a client chooses to stop working with our firm after receiving an ITA, we will have completed our mandate and he or she will no longer be provided with our guidance.

The fees for each part of the process are currently broken down as follows:

  1. Express Entry and Job Bank profiles:

Our fees for our assisting you with the Express Entry and Job Bank profile are $1995 USD and are divided into two instalments. There are no government fees currently required to submit the Express Entry or Job Banks profiles.

  1. Accepting an ITA:

Our law firm’s fees to pursue an application for Canadian permanent residence for candidates who receive an ITA under Express Entry are currently $1,500 USD. Please keep in mind that these fees are subject to change and are only available for existing clients. First time clients with ITAs will need more assistance and require a different contract.

  1. Government processing fees (after receiving ITA):

  • The current application fee is 550 CAD for the Principal Applicant, 550 CAD for the spouse or common-law partner, and 150 CAD per child.

  • The right of landing fee is 490 CAD for the Principal Applicant and 490 CAD for a spouse or common-law partner

We encourage all of our clients to budget properly for the entire process and hope that they choose to retain us if or when they succeed in obtaining the ITA.

In terms of settlement funds the Canadian Government feels that if someone has money in a savings account, it will help them make a better transition to Canada.

In your case, given that you are a family of 3 people, you would be required to show at least $18,825 CAD in a savings account that is either under your name, or your spouse’s name, or a combination of both. Please note, the requirements for settlement funds are updated annually.

I hope the above information answers your question…

Sincerely,

Attorney at Law
(Canadian Immigration Law)"

To the author of this tread: What do you offer and require from drivers? What visa they will be require to apply for?

No need to use an Imm lawyer or company, you still have to do all the legwork yourself, they only check what you have already done.
Most people doing EE are going it alone.
Absolute rip off.
99% of drivers will not get into Canada under EE(Express Entry), driving is not a skilled profession.

49

agritelbill:
Sorry for the confusion - $1,500-2,000 is Bi-weekly (Paid every other week) and is AFTER taxes have been removed. If we only paid that per month, I think we’d be thrown in jail for breaking some type of labour law!

In regards to the PR comment, once you get your PR status, you don’t have to stay with us - we just hope that you would! It is during the application process that you can’t change jobs. I can see where this is probably the thing that could get drivers upset if they join a company that “sells” them on a big dreamy idea and then when they move over, it turns out to be something different. Hence the reason why I’m always offering up my email address in the chance someone wants to know the details of the role, I’ll always be available to have a transparent discussion with them on the job. (billh@agritel.ca if anyone has questions!)

One of the responses hit it on the head for the most part, besides being on the road for 40 days. Our guys are on the road between 20-25 days, but the stuff regarding that it takes a certain type of driver in a certain stage of their life is correct. We don’t want to break up families or have someone commit to something to get over here and then change their mind once they get trained and rolling. Oh yeah, that’s something I forgot to say…we train our drivers on site instead of making them go to a driver’s school and pay out of their own pocket, thus saving them several thousands of dollars!

What would be the age limit upper and lower also if someone wants to go and is not interested in getting full residency how long could he work for you before he has to leave

50

Big Truck:

flat to the mat:

bullitt:

agritelbill:
…Avg paycheck after taxes (NET) is about $1500.00-$2000.00…

Is that per week, fortnight, month…■■

Am guessing it’s bi monthly ,Canadians don’t know what a fortnight is (honestly), so in your bank on the 15th and 30th of the month . Don’t make the mistake of thinking new arrivals walk into the best paying jobs , they do not , and unless I’m mistaken this isn’t one of them .
However , if you can afford to subsidize yourself and are seriously interested in the move , get yourself to the job fair in London and see what’s on offer .No pain no gain .

FTTM,
What “buying power” would $700/1000cdn per week give you??

I don’t mean to exchange said amount into £s but say would $700home in Canada “buy” you a similar weeks worth of family outgoings/spending similar to £500 in UK??

Sent from my SM-J500FN using Tapatalk

$700 is fairly dire , $1000 is more manageable . If you’re single you’ll obviously spend most of your life in the truck , days off staying with friends/hotels ,so no rent/mortgage to pay . Alternatively bring some capitol with you to subsidize yourself until you get established . Not certain on the cost of living in Winnipeg , as I don’t live there . FWIW , I do know in Manitoba it’s $5/beer $20/pack of smokes and around $!/ltr petrol .

51

nightline - Ideal age that MPNP (the provincial nominee program) is 21 to 45, but we do have a couple guys that have been a little older and still got through. If you were wanting to come over but not stay, it’s not ideal as the Province is looking for people who want to come, establish themselves and contribute to the economy, but we know not everyone is going to want to stay! So we hope that we can get a solid 2 to 3 years out of a guy. We know long-haul trucking isn’t something that every driver wants to make into a permanent lifestyle, but it is rewarding and a good job for certain lifestyles or time frames in a drivers career.

52

Cost of living is pretty cheap in comparison to the rest of the country. You can rent a solid studio apartment in a safe neighbourhood for approx. $650 to 750.00/month: (kijiji.ca/v-bachelor-studio … nFlag=true

a 1-bedroom apartment from $800 to $1000/month - kijiji.ca/v-1-bedroom-apart … nFlag=true

and a 2 bedroom for $1000-1300/month - kijiji.ca/v-2-bedroom-apart … nFlag=true

Now the areas that I listed are really safe, nice neighborhoods - I’m sure with digging deeper, you could find even more affordable places.

53

I dated a woman from Beausejour and she was a best friend of Mrs Agritel. She reckoned she could get me a start there. But it didn’t work out well with her and I didn’t go.
What Bill is saying sounds right to me. I am doing similar work for roughly the same take home pay.

You could save money by just renting a room as a lodger. $400 a month. It gives you an address and a place keep your stuff. There’s a lonely woman in BSJ who likes British drivers who might help a few drivers.

54

Chris - would you ever look at giving it a try again? Or was it mainly for the BSJ girl?

55

agritelbill:
Chris - would you ever look at giving it a try again? Or was it mainly for the BSJ girl?

Thanks for the offer Bill; but I’m content where I am now. The only time I come to BSJ now is for the car show (if I’m home!). But could luck with your search for drivers.

56

agritelbill:
nightline - Ideal age that MPNP (the provincial nominee program) is 21 to 45, but we do have a couple guys that have been a little older and still got through. If you were wanting to come over but not stay, it’s not ideal as the Province is looking for people who want to come, establish themselves and contribute to the economy, but we know not everyone is going to want to stay! So we hope that we can get a solid 2 to 3 years out of a guy. We know long-haul trucking isn’t something that every driver wants to make into a permanent lifestyle, but it is rewarding and a good job for certain lifestyles or time frames in a drivers career.

So, 47, very nearly 48, would be too old?

Got family in Vancouver, would there be any options for being based in BC?

57

Unfortunately with the MPNP Program, employees need to be based out of Winnipeg as the purpose of the project from a Government standpoint is to grow the local economy by bringing over qualified workers, who will eventually contribute to the local economy. As well, our home base is here, so when trucks need any key maintenance, this is where things need to be.

58

FWIW…

If you’re going to be on the road for 25+ days a month, maybe more if you want it and your single.

Why even bother renting an apartment?

Just crash out in a reasonably decent hotel for the few days your back. Rent a small car for transport or borrow the company pick up.

59

agritelbill:
Unfortunately with the MPNP Program, employees need to be based out of Winnipeg as the purpose of the project from a Government standpoint is to grow the local economy by bringing over qualified workers, who will eventually contribute to the local economy. As well, our home base is here, so when trucks need any key maintenance, this is where things need to be.

Ok…how about the age situation?

60

I’ve been driving nearly 22 years, managed to make 46 years of age, got 2 teenage kids and not much else since the split from their mother 18 months ago so this sort of adventure kinda appeals to me. I just think why have an adventure before it’s too late as I ain’t got a lot to loose anymore. I might well go to the job fair in November despite it being in that hell hole called London.