Howdy! Trying to get into the trucking business

Trey,

Have you heard anything from Watkins/Shepard for your training?

 

Most of the community college programs are better programs than the 3 week wonder courses and are usually less than 1/2 the cost. The college in Orlando charges $1100.00 for a PTDI Certified 8 week course compared to a 3 week course at TDI that charges $6000.00 and charges 16-21% interest on financing if you can't pay it upfront. The college we attended in New Mexico was $2500.00 for a 10 week course.

Pell Grants and other programs available through the unemployment office can offset the cost of the community college programs as well which honestly is where I would start. At your age, you should qualify for grant and you would not have to sign an employment agreement that way.

 

ok question i got a grant to go to a cdl school in my area from a program through the unimployment office where i live.. now heres my problem
they only deal with a few schools on there list..
one was what i call a farm school .. three students per trainer per truck
not one on one ..so that makes it hard for one persont to get the behind the wheel time that one would need.. now my question i am starting at a cdl school in march..but its only a 40 program split up over 5 weeks
of 1 on 1 training will i be able to get a job driveing with a company with only 40 hours of training ?

 

Sorry K&J, I asked the PTDI this morning. They say there are no PTDI-certified courses in Florida. I don't know how much credence to give the issue anyway. Which college in Orlando are you referring to?

 

What's the name of the grant?

 

i belive it was called wii through unimployment i got 3000
the place i went to in my area was called onestop dont know if your state has ti ya may have to ask your unimployment office

 

Do you mean the WIA? (Workforce Investment Act) I think that's a Federal program that is partially aimed at helping "displaced workers". Good thing it's Ferderal, (if it's Federal) as my state (Florida) has recently gone through a lot of budget cuts and there isn't as much money for these programs as there used to be. I'm going to a seminar (for lack of a better word) this morning for an introduction at the local One-Stop office. I'll report when I get back. I don't know why they didn't just put the information online.

 

Re: WIA
There are a lot of hoops to jump through to gain entry to the WIA program but the "what, when, where and how much" is contingent upon the district in which you live, as I understand it. In my district, $2500.00 is the maximum that WIA will provide for schooling in ANY Vocation. So unless you are in District 19 in the great State Of Florida, I doubt any of the above is applicable to you. Except, the "Career Councelor" stated that "Pell Grants are not available for CDL School" I asked if that included the National level. She said "Yes." This could be the result of a change in policy or fund availability; several posts to this and other forums seem to indicate otherwise.

Gooooood Luck!!!!!