The province is removing the mandatory entry level training, or MELT, for class 2 licences to help alleviate the shortage of school bus drivers.

Assistant superintendent with the Foothills School Division Drew Chipman says it will allow them to get drivers on the road quicker.

"I expect it will make some difference and allow us to get drivers on the road a little bit quicker, so from that perspective that will be beneficial as well as the additional dollars to help with training will certainly come in handy as well," he says.

"We've always done significant training for our drivers even before MELT was a requirement, we did the same number of in-classroom hours that MELT requires, what's going to change is what used to be one-on-one driving for 24 hours for each individual, now we can do that in groups so we can have more than one driver at the same time in a bus."

Chipman says the biggest change is the training won't have to be one-on-one and allows them to learn from each other as well as from instructors.

"We're looking to hire substitute drivers to make sure we have enough to operate the system efficiently, so that's our biggest issue is making sure we have enough to fill in when people are sick, or people are on leave. The time it takes to do the training kind of limits how soon you can get people who are interested (in driving) out on the road," Chipman explains.

He says if anyone is interested in driving, they should contact the division.