Farmers are welcoming another deadline extension to driver training needed to get a Class 1 drivers licenses.

Regulation changes came into effect earlier this year in March, requiring mandatory entry-level training (MELT) before getting your Class 1 or Class 2, but farmers were given an extra year to comply with Class 1 changes as it was getting into spring seeding.

The Class 1 training takes 113 hours to complete which doesn't include the air brake program, and the Class 2 training requires 50 hours of training.

Alberta Barley Commission Chair, Dave Bishop, says this second extension gives farmers until March 1, 2021, which was something the industry asked for.

Bishop suspects the Provincial Government received more applications for the first extended deadline than they were expecting, and it takes time to get enough trainers in place.

"I know there were 388 applications and 363 we're approved. My son was one of them, so he's been experiencing delays getting this done, so this is something that we were asking for and we're glad we got."

Farmers and farm workers have until November 20, 2020 to apply for the extension.

New school bus drivers can also apply for a similar extension for a Class 2 license until July 31 of next year.

For more information, you can visit the Alberta Government website.

 

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