Unemployed
turn to truck driving for worktruck driving
Posted: Aug. 11,
2009

Raleigh, N.C. — Some truck-driver training schools are seeing a
rise in enrollment as unemployed people head to the classroom to get
their careers in gear.

Enrollment at Carolina Trucking Academy, 3720 S.
Wilmington St., Raleigh, has risen 25 percent over the last two years,
according to owner Charlie Gray.
“We’ve seen a lot of folks who
traditionally had not thought about driving a truck as a profession,”
Gray said.

Steve Bartlett turned to Carolina Trucking Academy to find
work quickly, he said. He spent more than 20 years in lumber sales
before losing his job six months ago.
“The bottom did fall out, and I
could see opportunity in the trucking industry,” Bartlett said.

The truck driving course is certainly hands-on, and takes less than a
month to complete.
“I’ve always … looked out the window at these guys
that are running up and down the highway and I thought it would be
interesting for me,” student Travis Boyd said.

Boyd worked for a job
placement agency before getting laid off.
“It’s been a good break in the
action for me from just sitting in a room filling out resumes,” Boyd
said.

The requirements for academy admission are: * Student must be 18
years of age. A student under the age of 21 cannot drive across state
lines. * Students be physically qualified and drug-free. * Students
must have a valid North Carolina Driver’s License or a Class A
Learner’s Permit. * Students must have a valid social security
number.

Bartlett said as long as students have a clean criminal record,
all of them are placed into jobs upon graduation.For students who have
spent months looking for work, the course helps get them back into the
work force.
“You do get that big feeling. The view is a lot better up
there,” Bartlett said.

The enrollment fee at the academy is about $3,800
for a 16-day training course.After students pass the course, they
receive their commercial driver’s license. Bartlett said an entry-level
truck driver earns about $40,000 a year. After the first year, some
drivers can double their salary because they are no longer considered
entry level, Gray said.

The Employment Security Commission has a grant
program to help with tuition for people who qualify. To find out more,
call 919-733-6745.

Unemployed turn to truck driving for work :: WRAL.com

-6,800 trucking jobs lost in July.
that brings the trucking industry total up to 77,700 jobs in 2009 and 128,100 since the overall economic decline began in late 2008.

One thing worth mentioning that other articles have failed to point out is the fact that these numbers do not include truck drivers that work for private fleets. Most certainly the little guys are feeling the pain of the economy. The job loss numbers therefore could be treated as a minimum number rather than the total number.

The trucking industry as whole is now down a MINIMUM of 13.2 percent. (if we go by the statement we made a few moments ago). Truck driving jobs peaked in January 2007 and employed almost 1.5 million. Certainly a drop of 13.2 is a big number but all the buzz about an economic recovery should make it so the number does not grow too substantially.

Many media outlets have recently run articles about how those laid off across the country have filled many truck driving schools. With so many people getting CDL training it may be easier for trucking companies to find  new employees once the economy turns around.

The positive thing to take away here is the slowing of the job losses. The article also mentioned that previous months numbers have been revised showing employment levels were slighty higher than previously reported.
Click the link at the top to see the full and complete eTrucker article.