If you are wondering whether or not truck driving had a future – wonder no more. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, truck driving is at number thirteen in their list of the careers with the largest growth expectations. The BLS statistics put growth at 13%, which effectively equals 233,000 new truck driving jobs. Before you get too excited, these are ten year figures so the actual annual growth rate is around 23,300.

Now, consider one other fact – over 5% of the truck driving workforce is either moving on or retiring each year, so those number of new drivers each year suddenly explodes. With a workforce of 1.8 million drivers, the number of drivers required to replace those leaving the industry is approximately 90,000 – per year. Now you can get excited because that represents 100,000 new truck drivers needed each year until 2018.

Realistically, you could say that each state needs around 2,000 new truck drivers each year. That’s still a lot of drivers that need to be trained, licensed, and given experience. The one thing that ATS is renown for is providing the trucking industry with drivers that are well trained and ready for employment. We have a database with thousands of employers, many of whom are looking for new drivers on a regular basis.

If you have ever had a dream to drive trucks, either locally, intrastate, or interstate, then now could be a good time to start your truck driver training. Truck driver jobs generally peak in early summer and with training only requiring three weeks of your time, you could be trained, licensed, and ready to roll, just when employers are reaching out to take on new drivers.

Undertaking training and gaining a commercial drivers license doesn’t always have to lead to employment. There are thousands of individuals who have their CDL yet they rarely actually drive a truck. You may wonder why then they go to the bother of getting that license.

There are thousands of jobs around where a commercial drivers license is not a requirement, but it can be a ‘handy to have’ skill. Consider the type of work involved in a warehouse. Your day-to-day task would involve moving stock around, loading and unloading trucks, and keeping records of all the stock movements. If there is an urgent call for some stock, or a driver has called in sick, then the person with the truck license may well be the one called upon to fill in.

Heavy equipment operators can also find themselves in a similar situation. Their machine is required at a particular site, but there is no truck driver available to transport it. If you have your commercial drivers license then you are in a position to transport your own machine.

As I mentioned, there are thousands of jobs ranging from the farm to the docks and everywhere in between. If apply for a vacancy in a position where trucking could be useful, and you have your commercial drivers license, you may find that your application is considered more favorably than some else’s who doesn’t have that license.

If you are looking to expand your skills or to make yourself more employable, consider adding the commercial drivers license to your list of qualifications. It may just give you the edge over others applying for the same position. Commercial drivers license training doesn’t have to be undertaken because you want a career as a trick driver. People do the training often just to increase their skills base and to open up their employment options.

CDL training gives you the best chance of obtaining a license. But why do you need one? If you are looking for a career as a tractor-trailer driver, in other words a semi-trailer driver, then you are required to hold a valid Class A Commercial Driver’s License commonly known as a CDL.

The CDL was introduced by an act of Congress known as The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986. The aim of the act was to improve highway safety and to provide a minimum set of standards across the nation. Each state has retained the powers of assessing and issuing the licenses.

Holding a CDL has been compulsory for driving large trucks since 1992. So, to obtain your CDL, you will need to pass a knowledge based and practical skills based test administered by your state. CDL training should first take you through all the requirements needed to pass your written and practical tests.

Your training doesn’t finish there. CDL training could also include areas such as air brake knowledge, (T) Double/Triple Trailers, (P) Passenger transport, (N) Tank Vehicle, and (H) Hazardous Materials. If you pass the tests associated with those specialist areas your CDL will be endorsed with the appropriate letter. This means you can operate vehicles involved in that specialist area. Hazardous materials (H) is one of the most common endorsements.

ATS’s CDL training program involves both classroom and behind the wheel training. In the training room, student truck drivers are instructed in the procedures and techniques to safely operated a tractor trailer. You will be trained in all areas that will be tested on including topics such as proper log book practices.

AT ATS, your practical time is just that, time behind the wheel. We pay particular attention to some of the trickier skills such as turning, shifting and reversing. The student also spends time on the open road gaining skills and confidence around traffic. This provides the student with real world driving skills. CDL training is a must if you intend becoming a professional truck driver.

When times are tough employers look more to those that are qualified when looking for new employees. This is particularly true in the field of construction and heavy equipment. When times are good, some employers will take on new workers based on solely on five or ten years experience – not today, a qualified operator will almost always get the nod over an unqualified operator.

Now is probably a good time for those heavy equipment operators who learned “on-the-job” to perhaps think about getting that piece of paper that says they are qualified to operate construction equipment. While gaining a formal qualification they will be introduced to a broader range of heavy equipment which in turn widens their employment options.

If you’re a bulldozer operator then adding a truck license (CDL) to your list of skills will definitely make you more employable. Not only are you able to operate the bulldozer, you can truck it to the job and back again. If there is no bulldozer work available, there may at least be transport work available.

Being able to operate a range of heavy equipment not makes you more employable, it also adds variety to your own working life. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools provides accredited training to national standards. They can certainly formalize your current skills, at the same time they can add an additional range of skills to your repertoire.