5 August, Vitebsk /Sergey Kochetov - BELTA/. For the first time in Belarus, training for drivers for international road transport will commence from the new academic year. This training program is being launched at the Minsk Vocational and Technical College of Installation, Lifting and Transport, and Special Construction Works, as reported to journalists today by the college's director, Tatyana Yastreb, according to a BELTA correspondent. Today, the final of the 6th Republican Competition for Professional Skills of Truck Drivers is taking place at the Vitebsk Airport. The training will be conducted based on 11th-grade completion over a period of 1 year and 3 months, with the qualification awarded being "Automobile Repair Mechanic and Automobile Driver (International Transport)". The college has conducted career guidance among school leavers prior to announcing recruitment for this specialty. Today, with a planned intake of 30 students, over 60 applications have already been received from individuals wishing to pursue this profession. Although the document submission period will continue until August 20, the college will begin professional selection and testing of applicants from August 8. The first intake for the new specialty is being carried out entirely based on applications from organizations within the BAMAP International Carriers Association, thus guaranteeing future graduates their first place of employment. It is planned that initially, young specialists will work as auto mechanics and drivers on domestic routes, and within two years, they will undergo internships at the enterprise itself as international drivers, noted Tatyana Yastreb. In the future, the possibility of training international drivers based on 9th-grade completion with a three-year training period is not excluded. The Minsk college possesses the material resources for driver training and, at the same time, counts on the assistance of transport enterprises interested in training professional personnel. For instance, a set of educational and methodological materials for the new specialty has already been prepared for the college. The educational institution will engage highly qualified practicing specialists as instructors and will also send its full-time production training masters for internships at motor transport enterprises.