SUFFOLK, Va. – National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is September 11 – 17.
Especially in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans saw how fragile the supply chain can be and the importance of truck drivers.
News 3 decided to highlight the truck driving program at Tidewater Community College.
Trucking classes are taught at TCC’s Center for Workforce Solutions in Suffolk. Day, evening and weekend sessions are offered year-round.
"Most of our day students work at night and most of our night students work during the day," said Matthew Woods, lead instructor at TCC's truck driver training program in Suffolk.
With a potential railroad worker strike looming, the trucking industry is keeping a close eye on the situation. The American Trucking Associations is calling on Congress to help resolve ongoing labor negotiations.
“Idling all 7,000 long-distance daily freight trains in the U.S. would require more than 460,000 additional long-haul trucks every day, which is not possible based on equipment availability and an existing shortage of 80,000 drivers,” wrote ATA President and CEO Chris Spear in a letter sent to Capitol Hill last week.
As for the program at Tidewater Community College, it offers classes that cover Department of Transportation rules and regulations, defensive driving, maintenance, hazardous material, and highway and city driving. According to TCC, students can start their careers in just 16 weeks.
TCC has received a federal grant to specifically help train military veterans and their spouses for careers in trucking. It is one of 12 community colleges in the nation and the only college in Virginia to receive the award.
Woods says they are seeing more female students in the program.
"A shortage of drivers is something that’s been in our economy for many years. I don’t see that going away anytime soon," Woods stated. "We’re doing everything we can to replenish those drivers." He added, "We have more females now than we’ve probably had over the past ten years."
For more information on the program, click here.
