Unable to join any CDL school due to bad employment history

Your work history won't necessarily disqualify you from a private school, it just might hurt with the carrier, at least until you get the CDL. Private schools mostly care about the prehire letter. It shows they're doing their due diligence to graduate students who will go on to work in the trucking industry. Uncle Sam isn't gonna keep giving money to a school where 90% of graduating students don't get jobs.

Nobody is saying you need to lie to the trucking company. Just "workshop" your job history if the first company or two won't give you the prehire. For example, you said you cared for your sister for a while. That sounds to me like you were an "in-home health aid" for that time. Do you see what I'm getting at?

Call Western Express first like Chinatown said. You'll probably get the prehire with your resume as is

 

You can find a list of commercial driving schools that work with the WIOA on the
WIOA website for your county.

 

Most cdl schools take people on welfare, Half the people in my class got it for free from the government. Do you really want to be tied to a mega because they offered to pay for your school?

 

If your income is low enough you can easily go to a real school instead of a mega-camp and get your CDL on tax dollars.

 

Did you try Raider Express in Fort Worth?

 

I have not, honestly i haven't done much research into companies outside of the mega carriers, being absolutely new to this i'm not too great at finding every available school/company. Thank you, adding them to my bookmarks.

 

Does your state not have CDL classes at the community colleges and vocational trade schools ?

 

I have a feeling these companies are getting a rash of applications from all the unemployed the last 2+ years and who are now running out of money. They are probably very wary.

 

Well I guess the truck driver shortage is over.

Try Swift. They were not picky about work history when I was looking. Every other company I applied to was. I already had a CDL at the time and was getting rejections because I had had been self employed. It's a cyclical thing with trucking companies. When drivers are in demand they'll take anyone. When the market shifts the other way they get picky.

 

@Riotside -- your initial post here reminded me A LOT of my pre-CDL employment history.

I had been a caregiver for several years prior to apply for CDL jobs; this regular employment gap later produced real problems for me.

Long story, short: Schneider hired me, when no one else would.

The following webpage shows the options mentioned above, plus others; read it over, and think about all the options mentioned--at least one of them should work for you. I am submitting it to you with the assumption that you will most likely start things off doing dry van duty (& that's how I did it; now doing hazmat tanker duty--but not with Schneider):

Paid CDL training | Schneider (schneiderjobs.com)

Note also that Schneider has terminals in both Indianapolis and Gary, Indiana.

--Lual