Training Grant Beginning to Pay Off
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U.S, ATA to Childress had no fear of hard work, but he and his wife decided going to another factory job — with its low pay and uncertainties about being laid off — wasn’t the answer.
Meanwhile, the trucking industry — which needs about 80,000 new drivers each year — would love to put hard-working people like Childress behind the wheel of a big rig. And that’s where he will end up after participating in a program that teams the U.S. Department of Labor with state trucking associations, the Professional Truck Driver Institute and American Trucking Associations.
The Labor Department is footing the $1.2 million bill for pilot efforts in Tennessee and Pennsylvania that could become the model for a nationwide program. The grant money is funneled through the ATA Foundation to local government offices and schools.
Childress got into the course after work slowed down at the paperback book factory where he worked in his hometown of Martin, Tenn. He went to a job training and placement center, and attended a presentation by M.S. Carriers.
The Memphis-based truck company’s driver training academy is one of two schools participating in the program in Tennessee. A school run by U.S. Xpress Enterprises of Chattanooga is also part of the effort.
In Pennsylvania, six private, noncarrier schoolsare involved in a similar program.
The Department of Labor required the schools to be approved by PTDI, an industry-financed organization that evaluates and certifies driver training schools to ensure they’re producing quality drivers.
After talking with M.S. Carriers representatives, Childress applied.
For the full story, see the March 29 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
