Office with a View

Food, clothes, cars, furniture, and toys—nearly everything you buy comes to you on a truck. And these trucks all need drivers.

The trucking industry is expected to hire about 200-thousand drivers this year alone, according to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. Companies that downsized during the recession are rebuilding their workforces and replacing retirees. Also, new federal safety standards are driving out those with poor safety records—creating more room on the road for new recruits.

“They’re weeding out those who are less desirable, those who don’t have the wherewithal to be good stewards of the road,” says Joe Lackey, Florida Coast Career Tech.

Lackey is the Lead Instructor for Commercial Vehicle Driving at Florida Coast Career Tech, a division of Florida State College at Jacksonville. He says these changes in the industry—along with the double-digit unemployment rate—are making life on the road more attractive to a more diverse group of people.

“I have students that are 18, I have students that are 65. It’s changing. More people with degrees, retired military,” says Lackey.

21-year-old Daniel Angers enrolled at Florida Coast Career Tech right after graduating from Full Sail University—an award-winning school for entertainment media. However, he still has his sights set on a career in the recording arts.

“I want to go to Nashville or New York or Los Angeles to do that, but I need to get some money first. I’ve always been interested in trucks and figured this would be a great way to make some money,” says Angers.

Angers chose Florida Coast Career Tech for two reasons: It was less expensive than the competition, allowing him to graduate debt-free. It also provided more training in the classroom and, “a lot more time on the road,” says Angers.

“We are more involved in training the complete driver as opposed to teaching someone how to be a trucker,” says Lackey.

As the industry is expanding, so is Florida Coast Career Tech’s Commercial Vehicle Driving program. This construction is part of a multi-million dollar project that will include a new state-of-the-art learning center with an attached inspection bay, two skills-training pads and a three-quarter mile track with many challenging turns. Stay tuned to Florida State College Network for the very latest on this project. Click here if you’re interested in enrolling in the program.