Trucking, Arkansas Educators Plan Driver Training Center
Trucking industry officials and educators say they will work together in Arkansas to build a driver training and transportation worker learning center, whose young graduates would be exempt from the federal minimum age for interstate truckers.
President Clinton endorsed the training center during a recent trip to the Mississippi River Delta region. Clinton met with trucking company executives and educational officials to talk about the idea. Later, he announced his support for the proposed Delta Transportation Technology Center during a speech at Mid-South Community College in West Memphis, Ark. The college would be the site of the training center.
“These jobs pay good money and there is a shortage today . . . of 80,000 jobs for entry-level truck drivers and other transportation jobs that would pay an average of $35,000 to $40,000 a year,” Clinton said in his speech. “So what we want to do is train everybody in the Delta who wants these jobs here, so that they can continue to live in the Delta.”
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 |  WD&D Architects |
| The proposed Delta Transportation Technology Center would train entry-level truck drivers and transportation specialists. |
Some trucking companies hope to find a solution to chronic driver shortages by starting to train students for a career in the industry as early as the 10th grade. Proponents of the Arkansas facility say it would be perfectly located in an area that needs jobs and is a major transportation hub.
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