The Daily Record Reports truck Driving School Enrollment

Many Unemployed Turning To Truck DrivingBy REECE MURPHYOf The Record StaffAfter months of searching for work in their fields and unemployment benefits on the verge of ending, many of America’s unemployed these days are going back to school in the hopes of learning a new trade.While schools offering training in traditional recession-proof jobs such as those found in the health care industry and law enforcement are, as always, humming with activity, another educational industry that is doing just finethese days is one you may not have considered — trucking schools.With plenty of the local unemployed looking for new jobs, two area trucking schools, Roadmaster Drivers School in Dunn and Johnston Community College in Smithfield, say their classrooms are full as students continue to rotate through, emerging on the other side of their courses with the education and Class A licenses they need to get a job in an industry that’s not going anywhere soon.“We’re holding our own,” Roadmaster of Dunn Director Gary Johnsonsaid. “Attendance is down at some of our other schools, but we’re holding our own here, I think because trucking is such a big part of this area.“And nationally, there’s always going to be jobs in trucking,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what it is, fuel, groceries, consumer goods, they all have to be transported by truck somewhere along the way.”According to American Trucking Associations, there are approximately 3.5 million truck drivers in the country driving more than 400 billion miles a year as of 2005. A total of 69 percent of the nation’s freight tonnage, or 10.7 billion tons of freight, are hauled by trucks annually, the association says.The association says there is currently a shortage of approximately 20,000 truck drivers a year, a number which is expected to increase to 111,000 a year by 2014.Paul Jump, director of Truck Driver Training at Johnston Community College, said driver training at Johnston Community College has seen a 5 to 10 percent increase in students with an average age of 36 years old.Mr. Johnson said 75 to 80 percent of the students are there for a career change, students like David Christensen of Benson, a former bank equipment service technician with Custom Vault, laid off in October after almost 15 years in the field.“Well, they’re hiring for one,” Mr. Christensen said of his reasons for choosing trucking, “and you know, I’m 55-years-old and had the same job for the last 15years.“I’ve been a tree climber in the past, and a carpenter, but when you get older, you want to try to get a job where you don’t have to be out in the weather,” he said. “The school was way tougher than you’d ever dream, but I think it was a very good choice.” Like Mr. Johnson, Mr. Jump said one draw is a relatively good starting pay in the field. Both men also said they’ve seen an increase in so-called white collar workers migrating to the trucking industry.“We’ve had lawyers, professors, we’ve had teachers, people with four-year degrees,” Mr. Jump said. “We’ve had a dentist or two, but that’s unusual, though we do have lawyers on a pretty regular basis, I don’t know why.“I’d say the most attractive aspect is the money, how quickly they can start making decent money,” he said. “We’re talking about somewhere around $40,000 a year potentially starting out.”But it doesn’t come as easy as hopping into a rig and start driving, the instructors said. There’s a lot more to it than many people expect.“A lot of people don’t realize how much work there is involved in trucking, if they want to make that good money right off, they’re probably going to have to be on the road (long distance),” Mr. Johnson said. “In fact, that’s what we often suggest students to do is take that first year, get some miles under their belts and most of all, keep their records clean.“That’s what trucking companies are looking for, experience and a clean record,” he said.Mr. Jump agreed and said truck driving requires self-discipline and motivation. He said truck driving is not a job for a person who cannot supervise themselves since it’s important to be able to set and keep schedules, as well as keep up with the paperwork.“It’s not simply holding the steering wheel, blowing the horn and seeing the sights,” Mr. Jump said. “There’s a lot of responsibility to go along with it.“But to be able to change professions and make a good livelihood like truck driving can provide, it’s a great deal,” he said.Johnston Community College Truck Driving School student,at left, Chris Pope of Coats, speaks with Donnie Bullock of Princeton, JCC truck driving instructor, as he prepares to get out of the truck. Mr. Pope has been in training since the end of June.Daily Record Photo/Brenda Buchanon

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