Twelve Students Graduate from Surry’s Truck Driver Training Program

Twelve students graduated from Surry Community College’s Truck Driver Training Program at the Yadkin Center on March 10.

The graduates include Christy Miller of Lowgap, Brendon Eads of Hamptonville, Sandy Clements of Wilkesboro, Gerado Diaz of Pilot Mountain, Epimaco Fermin of Winston Salem, Taylon Dancy of Hamptonville, Grantly Benton of Lowgap, Carson Swinney of Lowgap, Jesse Branch of Ennice, Michael Phillips of Ararat, Roy Tripp of Yadkinville, and Dawson Walker of Jonesville.

The guest speaker at the graduation was Jay Boaz, Chief Operating Officer for Cooke Trucking in Mt. Airy.

Surry Community College will be offering additional sections of Truck Driver Training this summer. A class will be offered May 22 through July 28, with an orientation on May 4, at 10 a.m. A second session will be offered July 31 through October 6, with an orientation on July 12, at 10 a.m.

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 $1,999.00. You may qualify for a tuition scholarship. To see if you are eligible, please visit www.surry.edu/funding.