Nine students graduated from Surry Community College’s Truck Driver Training program. (Front row, left to right) Lead Instructor Brandon Cockerham, Kevin Torres, John Sizemore, John Sherrill, Wesley Bell, Jorge Benitez and Instructor Dale Myers. (Back row, left to right) Instructor Charles Jester, Garrett Silver, Brian Woodle, Jeff Brown, Jesus Guzman and Instructor Perry Wagoner.
Nine students graduated on Aug. 4, from Surry Community College’s Truck Driver Training Program at the Yadkin Center.
The graduates include John Sizemore of Boonville; Brian Woodle of Dobson; John Sherrill of East Bend; Jesus Guzman of Elkin; Kevin Torres of Mount Airy; Wesley Bell of Wilkesboro; Jorge Benitez, Jeff Brown and Garrett Silver of Yadkinville.
Chair of the Yadkin County Commissioners, Kevin Austin, addressed the graduates at their ceremony. He spoke to them about his own experience in the trucking industry, as well as the importance of trucking to the local and state economies.
Surry Community College will be offering another section of Truck Driver Training starting this fall. The class will run from Tuesday, Oct. 11 through Friday, Dec. 16 and will meet from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Median pay for truck drivers is $47,100 per year, according to the United States Department of Labor. Drivers with experience can make more than $50,000.
With a shortage of up to 12,000 truck drivers in North Carolina and as many as 200,000 nationally, CDL-certified drivers will easily be able to find jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor says the profession is expected to keep growing – by 6 percent during 2020-2030.
“There are currently job openings for truck drivers locally and nationally. We developed this program as a direct response to the requests from local truck driving representatives who need skilled applicants to fill job vacancies,” said SCC President Dr. David Shockley.
The SCC Truck Driver Training Program teaches proper driving procedures, safe driver responsibility, commercial motor vehicle laws and regulations, and the basic principles and practices for operating commercial vehicles. The coursework includes motor vehicle laws and regulations, map reading, vehicle maintenance, safety procedures, daily logs, defensive driving, freight handling, security and fire protection.
Highway driving training exercises and classroom lectures are used to develop the students’ knowledge and skills. Graduates are qualified to take the Commercial Driver’s License Test and are employable by commercial trucking firms. They may also become owner-operators and work as private contract haulers.
Special admission requirements include official driving record; physical examination; reading placement test score of 40 or higher; disclosure form; high school transcript; and drug testing.
For more information about SCC’s Truck Driver Training Program, contact the Yadkin Center at (336) 386-3580. The tuition is $1,999. You may qualify for a tuition scholarship. To see if you are eligible, please visit www.surry.edu/funding.
Chair of the Yadkin County Commissioners, Kevin Austin, addressed the graduates at their ceremony.
Original source can be found here.
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