Yellow Corporation reportedly employs more than 30,000 freight hauling professionals, and it continues to sponsor CDL academies amidst an 80,000-plus truck driver shortage. The Kansas-based operation recently added three driving academies in an effort to train the next generation of truck drivers and keep its ranks full.
“We’re thrilled to own and operate a total of 20 permanent Driving Academies, which are free to all students,” Yellow Corp vice president Tamara Jalving reportedly said. “In the last year, we have opened eight new Academies, with more scheduled to open later this year in other parts of the country. Training our own drivers is simply the best way to tackle the driver shortage in America.”
Offering 20 tuition-free programs is a rare and highly competitive perk for upstart truckers. It’s not uncommon for freight carriers to offer sign-on bonuses that essentially cover the cost of truck driver school tuition and expenses. Opening academies in Columbus, Ohio; Tracy, California; and Maybrook, New York, allows residents to effectively move into a high-paying career transporting America’s goods and materials without incurring the massive debt associated with a four-year college degree.
“We plan to bring in new drivers and certainly more diverse candidates as we aim to train 1,000 new drivers this year. We’re introducing a wider and broader audience to the trucking industry, not just recruiting talent from other trucking companies,” Yellow Corp CEO Darren Hawkins reportedly said. “We need to grow the overall population of applicants for commercial driver’s licenses. That’s what we’re doing, and that’s the intention of our Driving Academies.”
Students learn both the operational side of the industry and the skills necessary to earn a commercial driver’s license. The process involves 160 hours of hands-on training as well as a month under the tutelage of an experienced and certified Yellow Corp instructor. By the end of the academic studies and wheels-in-the-pavement training, participants are well-positioned to take and pass their CDL examination. Those who secure a CDL are often offered a job opportunity with Yellow Corp hauling freight.
Yellow’s Driving Academies are reportedly certified as Department of Labor apprenticeship programs. They are designed to provide paid on-the-job instruction for workers. Other Yellow Corp driving academy locations include Atlanta/Marietta; Charlotte; Chicago; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Denver; Fort Worth, Texas; Hagerstown, Maryland; Indianapolis; Kansas City; Memphis; Nashville; Pico Rivera, California; Portland; Salt Lake City; South Bend, Indiana; and Detroit.
Sources
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