UTICA — People who are not happy at their current jobs and are thinking about becoming a tractor-trailer driver, can pursue it through training at Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC). The college offers a truck-driver training session every two to three weeks throughout the year. It provides a daytime class that starts every two weeks, […]
UTICA — People who are not happy at their current jobs and are thinking about becoming a tractor-trailer driver, can pursue it through training at Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC).
The college offers a truck-driver training session every two to three weeks throughout the year. It provides a daytime class that starts every two weeks, and an evening class that begins monthly, says Franca Armstrong, associate vice president of workforce development at MVCC. “So about three times a month, you can get into a class.”
Armstrong spoke with the Business Journal News Network on Dec. 15.
The course targets “underemployed” adults, she notes.
“People who have been out in the workforce and, for whatever reason, would like to earn more. This allows them to do so with very short-term training,” she adds.
The tractor-trailer driver training course typically lasts between four and six weeks. It costs $4,900 for the training, she adds.
MVCC has a contract with SAGE Truck Driving Schools to provide the driver-training program.
SAGE Truck Driving Schools is part of the Camp Hill, Pa.–based SAGE Corporation. SAGE trains more than 4,000 Class A drivers per year, according to the MVCC website.
The program is based upon curriculum that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Alexandria, Va.–based Professional Truck Driving Institute (PTDI) developed.
PTDI is a nonprofit that has been working with the carriers, truck-driver training schools, insurance industry, and government to prioritize safety, according to its website.
The MVCC driver–training program provides students with a mix of classroom and “hands- on” training, says Armstrong.
This 150-hour program “fully meets the needs” of students with no prior knowledge or experience in truck driving, MVCC contends.
It includes 46 hours of one-student-per-truck driving time and 104 hours of class and lab time.
Upon completion, graduates will be certified as an entry-level tractor-trailer driver in accordance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation 49 CFR 380.503 and passage of the New York state class A commercial driver’s-license requirements.
Applicants are required to have a valid New York driver’s license; be at least 21 years of age; pass a DOT physical and drug test; maintain a “good” driving record; and have a high-school diploma or GED, according to the MVCC website.
The program director will interview applicants. MVCC will also conduct family interviews, because tractor-trailer driving is a “commitment,” says Armstrong.
“Before you put in this kind of time and money, you have to make sure that your whole family is behind you on this,” she says.
Between 100 and 120 people complete the course annually, says Armstrong.
People completing the course can pursue driving jobs with starting salaries of about $40,000, she says. MVCC says it has a 98 percent placement rate for people taking the training course.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
