Jaskirat Sidhu’s mere two weeks of training before the Humboldt Broncos crash reveals flaws within the trucking industry – according to truckers.

“Guys are doing stuff way too cheap. The cheaper guys cut the rates and there’s no workmanship,” said Jay Kuwpenbender, a truck driver of 20 years.

The crash, which killed 16 and injured 13 others, happened during Sidhu’s first week alone on the job, court heard on Thursday.

Sidhu had one week of training in August 2017 and then got his license.

After about a year without working in the industry he was hired by Calgary-based Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd. Prior to the crash, Sidhu received two weeks of training with another driver.

"It's rush, rush, rush. The rates were probably cut, doing it for next to nothing. He was a new driver. He was probably behind, and he's trying to make a paycheck – probably getting paid next to anything,” said Kuwpenbender. Trucking should be treated as a trade with mandatory training, he said.

Denis Corriveau, a driver of 49 years, told CTV News: "You go down the highways and nobody stops at stop signs.”

Corriveau said standardized testing for drivers across Canada and more enforcement on roads could help turnaround the industry.

Sidhu’s defence lawyer, Mark Brayford, said Thursday Sidhu “was in way over his head.”

Before the crash he loaded and tarped his truck in Carrot River, Sask., but as he approached the intersection at Highway 35 his tarp came loose.

Sidhu was “inappropriately focused on the problem that he’s having with the tarps and the trailer,” Brayford told court.

Sidhu apologized to the families and blamed the crash on his lack of experience.

“I am so, so, so, so, so sorry for this day.”

Celeste Leicht, whose 19-year-old son died in the crash, called for change in the trucking industry outside the Melfort courtroom on Wednesday.

“The industry needs to change with the times. It needs updating, and it needs to happen now – not in five years, not in two years, it needs to happen now.”

Ontario is the only province with compulsory training. Come March, Saskatchewan will require drivers to have at least 121.5 hours of training before they take their Class 1 license test.

Last week, the country’s transportation ministers agreed to develop an entry-level national training standard for semi-truck drivers.