Truck drivers transport almost three-fourths of the country’s freight, and 80 percent of communities depend on trucks to deliver their essentials, including medicine, food, and building supplies.

The trucking industry has faced a driver shortage for more than a decade. That shortage of drivers has a major impact on the economy. According to the American Trucking Association (ATA), the trucking industry needs to add 1.1 million truckers within the next 10 years.

Because there will always be a need for services and products, there will always be a need for truck drivers. While there are many positions for over-the-road drivers, which can be gone for several days or even weeks at a time, however, there are driving opportunities that ensure weekends at home, or for the driver to be home every night.

The ATA estimates that the U.S. is currently short about 100,000 truck drivers. The average salary for a trucker falls between $45,900 and $59,190, which is a comfortable income. Usually, trucking companies offer full benefits packages, which include health insurance and other optional coverage, such as life insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, and so forth.

Diesel Truck Driver Training School was founded in 1959 near Madison, Wisconsin. Diesel Truck Driver Training School is associated with ATS since 1996, the values remained the same, and additional training programs were added.

If you would like to learn more about a truck driving career, call ATS. Financial aid is available for the school.

There is a big demand for professional drivers who have their CDLs. Many trucking companies and other businesses are now paying for employees to get CDL training and provide a salary while the employee is going through training.

Tuition at truck driving school can cost thousands of dollars. When your employer covers the cost of your training, that is beneficial. That is also ensuring you have a job – and a source of income – after training has been completed.

There are many trucking companies that will cover the cost of CDL training. Some of the better-known companies that will pay for CDL training include:

• SWIFT Transportation
• Prime Transportation
• Knight Transportation
• PAM Transport
• FFE Transportation

These companies require an employment contract. If you do not fulfill the contract and leave the place of employment earlier than the contract indicates, you will most likely have to repay your employer for the cost of the training.

Some trucking companies also contract with specific truck driver training schools and CDL programs. While some trucking companies allow you to choose your own school just so long as it meets the requirements and needs of their trucking company.

Professional truck driving is a career that is in demand, and the average salary for a trucker is $50,000. State averages range from a low annual salary of $39,177 in North Carolina to a high annual salary of $56,434 in New Jersey.

Associated Training Services offers heavy equipment training as well as CDL and truck training programs. To learn more about our programs, call (800) 383-7364.

Still Training Heavy Equipment Operators

Construction is considered a necessity, and despite the shutdowns that took place because of the Covid-19 pandemic, construction has continued. While some states have specified which kinds of construction were essential, some states only allowed work on what was deemed necessary, such as housing, medical, and infrastructure projects.

With construction projects in high demand and new infrastructure plans, so is the need for qualified and well-trained heavy equipment operators and construction workers. Associated Training Services (ATS) offers a variety of training programs including:

• Heavy Equipment Operator
• Mobile Crane; NCCCO certifications
• Truck Driving
• Get Your CDL
• Rigging/Signalperson; NCCCO certifications
• Digger Derrick; NCCCO certifications
• Tower Crane; NCCCO certifications
• Directional Drilling
• Specialized Training; NCCCO certifications

We offer career service assistance, which provides students with some tools, resources, and assistance to help with career goals nationwide. Our career services department provides a job leads database, which contains the names and contact details of thousands of potential employers. New employers and job postings are constantly being added to the database.

ATS is open and training students. An appointment is required, and masks must be worn. We accept military benefits and financial assistance is available. Now is the time to get started in the construction industry or to start a career as a heavy equipment operator. Call (800) 383-7364 today to learn more about how we can help you take the next step.

This week’s heavy equipment job listings have some openings for “heavy equipment operators and Class-A CDL truck drivers” and that opening could be filled by the same person — if that person has added the CDL Truck Driving Program to their training program while at ATS. Many students choose to enhance their heavy equipment operating skills by adding a Class-A CDL to their resume, and it makes sense to do it while you are a student.

When students start at ATS, the Employment Assistance starts, too. It doesn’t stop once you graduate because it’s a lifetime benefit of ATS. That’s pretty good, don’t you think?

Another benefit that ATS grads appreciate is free access to the job site, where you can find more than job listings. This site is a professional networking resource for the skilled trades industries and having free access to that resource keeps you in touch with all that is happening in your field.

Here are the job listings for this week:

LOS ANGELES CA — hiring mobile crane operators with Class-A CDL

DARLINGTON, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

NEENAH, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers 

PEWAUKEE, WI — hiring heavy equipment operators and Class-A CDL truck drivers

BALDWINSVILLE, NY — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

BATON ROUGE, LA — hiring heavy equipment operators and Class-A CDL truck drivers

Good luck!

There’s something interesting about this week’s heavy equipment job listings: they all are looking for Class-A CDL truck drivers. Why would a heavy equipment job opening involve having your CDL? It’s simple, a heavy equipment operator who also has the Class-A Commercial Drivers License can do a lot more on the job site and so is a valuable asset.

A lot of heavy equipment can’t be driven over the road because it goes too slowly or the tracks would tear up the asphalt. So the equipment is moved by loading it on a flatbed and a truck takes it down the road. If the operator of the backhoe, for instance, is also able to drive the truck to the next job site, that’s a plus.

There are a lot of advantages to having your CDL if you are a heavy equipment operator. That’s why ATS offers a CDL Truck Driving Program as part of your options when you attend. And as a graduate, you always have access to employment assistance for the latest job listings:

Superior, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

Amherst, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

Marshfield, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

Waunakee, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

Oshkosh, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

Waukesha, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

Hennessey, OK — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

Cuba City, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

You’ll find a lot more employment assistance at the job site. It’s one of the best ways to network in the skilled trades industries.

Technically, you do not need a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) to operate heavy equipment, it’s true. But if you have your CDL, you are going to be much more valuable to an employer, and it can make the difference between getting hired or getting a raise or staying home looking for work that pays the bills. Because of this, ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School includes short-term truck driver training for those who want to take their career to this higher level.

Driving a tractor-trailer to move heavy equipment to the next job site is necessary with anything that uses tracks instead of wheels. This equipment is slow, heavy, and often wide. To take it down the road would tie up traffic and probably mess up the surface. So a flatbed or lowboy trailer is used; the equipment is driven up a ramp, tied down, and moved by towing the trailer. If you can show a CDL and a training certificate from ATS (a respected school in this business), you are ahead of the rest.

In four weeks at the most, you will be prepared to take the CDL road test. You’ll know Department of Transportation rules & regulations, how to drive heavy equipment on roads, how to back heavy equipment, coupling, uncoupling, pre-trip inspections, and all the rest. ATS started out in truck driver training, so we know the value of this skill.

Employers know that value too and are willing to pay more for an employee who can operate heavy equipment plus drive any of the trucks that may be needed to transport it. The more skills you have, the more valuable you are as an employee. Check into our CDL Truck Driving Program and see how you can be the one who gets the job because you have the right training.