PTDI and SWIFT

I trained at AIT, Phoenix, AZ which still attempts to send all their students to Swift first, then Warner or Knight. We had a broke shifter simulator, so never even saw that, and 4 students in a truck with 1 trainer... not much practical experience. The cost was $3000 thereabouts. And there were payoffs for referrals to certain company recruiters... steering students to certain companies. The school has since fired most there, and certain recruiters/companies are no longer allowed. So I am hoping they are better than they were. But upon my request for re training... I was immediately steered to Swift for work. I politely said no thank you.

That all said... there are many happy with the training and work at Swift, and there is good and bad with all these companies... lips move, lies are spoken. Bottom line with Swift and others (Central Ref., Covenant, CRE, Warner and others...) is the OTR trainer... training will suck if you are being trained by some guy who's driven for only 6 months or a year. I want to train with a guy who's the best...or at the least, extremely experienced and competent... at least OTR 2 years experience. Companies like Swift don't have that many around that long because they don't WANT them around that long...they get paid more and the company makes less... This equals fewer good experienced trainers, which means lousy training, thus lousy new drivers.

 

I got lucky: Had a mentor that had been driving for 22 years. I'm up to two. No longer with Swift, but it's a great place to get the experience and then move on in a year or two. Use them for whatever you can! They will use you and treat you like crap, but it doesn't mean you won't benefit from the experience. When you leave them, and you will, at least you will see that after a little of the hard knocks, you're able to get a decent job with a reputable company. Best wishes and stay safe.