Swift training school any one out here been there.

Another positive day..congrats..still trying to figure out how to explain to Nana how Millington and the new tuition thing can tie together...gettting a headache! LOL

 

Well????

I'm not arguing I just want to know. I don't see the relationship.


Personally I think it's money. The industry has changed. It's changed from when we first looked into it back in Jan. 2008 (I think that's right). Back then companies were hurting for drivers, now they're not. We all see it, look how many people on this forum complain about newbies and how we newbies shouldn't be trained or hired because there are "experienced" drivers who can't get hired.

So, now does a company have to have as big of a "carrot" to dangle in front of someone's nose? I don't think so.

 

It is a stretch for sure, but thinking that with any financial impact predicted for future settlements against Swift..Swift could be restructuring its different expenses in the not so distant future. Namely the reimbursement of tuition..although it doesn't really add up due to the time a student has to put in to get the loan paid, then the reimbursement of the paid loan..actually the whole thing sounded like double dipping to me ever since they started the requirement of so much time to get paid back.

For the life of me I could never figure out how much profit Swift gained from the school/loan interest/tax break vs instructor cost/school expenses/fuel...unless I had all factors in writing/ledger, it would be next to impossible to even estimate the profit margin the school has.

 

Saw on another thread that Tennesse stopped the third party testers at another CDL school. Do you think this will take some of the heat off Swift. Does Tenn hire the testers or does the school? Maybe they should look at who they allow to administer test.

 

Due to this incident..Swift stopped using 3rd party tester altogether (so I was told by reliable..unnameable source), which makes sense...but I hav also found out that there was much, much more to the raid in Millington than just 3rd party testing impropriety.

Wife and I were watching this thing since it happened..and the scope of the multitude of State, and Federal agencies involved didn't add up to new student licenses...but can't get into what I discovered as it isn't resolved yet. When the story gets public, trust me some jaws are going to be jitting the floor...and some butts are going to get to meet "bubba" in new housing so to speak!

 

OK for those that are curious I just spoke to my recruiter who called Lewiston to verify about the students paying for lodging beginning with the 7/27 class.... I am not sure who she had spoken with but at this point in time it is nothing more than a theoretical rumor... granted it may be implemented in the future but at this time it is just an idea that is being tossed around... Soooo for those of us that are going to be starting soon... NO WORRIES !!!!

Since it makes no matter to me I did however fail to verify the part as to if they are going to stop the tuition reimbursment (my bad) ...

FORD.... Good luck on your testing tomorrow besure to relax and have fun its just like another day in the truck with an instructor !!!!

 

Today was the final day of driving at Swift Academy. Because Bob will be taking 3 students to Pasco WA to take our state test. Dave and I are two of the students, and the third guy is name Kurt. Now Kurt was with a different instructor through the entire class, and he was in a truck that did not have any load in the trailer. So, Kurt jumped in our truck this morning to get acquainted with the truck that we will be testing in. Again this truck is loaded with 15,000 pounds of concrete blocks.

Kurt did pretty good in our truck. At the start of the day he was taking the turns a lot faster than we do, but he slowed down by the end of the day. Bob has told us from the start to take the turns in 3rd gear, but Kurt was going around them in 5th and 6th. With only a light load of 15,000 lbs, we could feel the difference. It was really great when Kurt tried to start off from a light in 4th gear! Apparently this is the way they would do it in the other truck.

We heard a lot of different techniques from the other instructors truck. He told them exactly when to begin turning the wheel right up until test day, yesterday. If they made the slightest mistake, the instructor would yell and scream to get them to fix the mistake. Today Kurt was going down a hill a little too fast, so he decided to try and downshift. Unfamiliar with the loaded trailer, he could not get into gear and the truck was speeding up. He kept revving it up and trying to get it into any gear. He really panicked more because he was waiting for Bob to scream at him and tell him what to do. Bob just sat looking out the window, and let him figure it out on his own. He did finally begin to use the service brakes and was able to slow it down and get it into gear, on his own.

Kurt really freaked out when he was going down a hill in 5th gear on a 20mph hill. He was braking hard, then coasting in 5th. Bob reached over and flipped up the Jake Brake, and Kurts said what is that? Apparently they were not able to use the Jakes in the other truck.

Towards the end of Kurts first driving session he remarked that he was seeing a lot of new roads today. The other instructor had a routine that they would do every day. They started out driving the Idaho State test route two time in the morning, then they would take a short trip out of town. They never saw any of the real turns that we have done over the last two weeks.
All 3 of us did some driving in Lewiston and Clarkston today. We also played around at a dock and tried to back the trailer into some pretty tight spots. Of course Bob gave us a laugh after we played around and took about 10 minutes each to dock the trailer. Bob jumped in the truck and docked the trailer in about 2 minutes with a short pull up to straighten it out. It was a very tight dock, but Bob's 5 years of local work has paid off for him when it comes to docking.

At the end of the day we returned to the school and met up with some other students. Everyone has now passed the schools tests, and is now ready for the state test. 2 students from Montana left at 5:30 this morning and should be home late tonight. The Oregon students went last night and tested in Ontario Oregon, and returned today. They passed the test and need some more hours in class to finish on friday. There are 2 trucks headed to WA on Friday morning. our truck leaves at 4:30 am for Pasco, and the other truck is headed for Spokane WA at 5:00 am.

What I learned today is that Bob has been teaching Dave and I more of the real world situations than any other instructor has been teaching. I am very glad that I got Bob as my instructor, and i am sure that I will remember his advice for months and maybe even years to come.

Wish us all luck with our state tests on friday!

 

Ford, I wish you luck on the test.I have enjoyed reading your daily updates.Please keep updates on how on truck training goes when you can.

 

Good luck Ford.. Just keep a cool head and don't get to nervous when you test.

 

Good update - in our state test you're not allowed to use the Jake brake, you should definitely know what it is and how to use it, but if you've been doing it all along during practice and then inadvertently do it during the test...