ESCC training helps ‘trucks move America’

Thompson and Kemmie Williams are CDL Instructors at the AAC Campus in Ozark. Wednesday, they joined ESCC Director of Workforce Development Leigh Shiver and CDL student Trevor Dyson to outline developments in the program that began in Ozark in 2018.

ESCC offers the six-week training courses for drivers to obtain a Class A or a Class B CDL which teaches them the basics of truck driving, before providing students with hands on experience on the road, said Shiver. These programs meet the standards established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the State of Alabama

“After receiving hands on training on the road, as well as in the simulator, CDL students can prepare for their testing, which they can take here on campus,” said Shiver, adding that with the addition of a fast-track training curriculum provided through the Alabama Innovation Center, students can complete the training in less than six weeks.

ESCC has a truck driving simulator that can recreate driving conditions and simulates any bump, curb or weather conditions they may encounter while driving. The next step in the training is hands-on training behind an actual 18-wheeler. The school has both automatic transmission and manual shift trucks for students to train on. After training, the students can take the CDL testing on the AAC campus, which also serves as a CDL testing site for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Dyson, 20, is set to take the final CDL testing next week. After the Ozark man graduated from Northside Methodist Academy in Dothan, he attended an area two-year college focusing on general studies but shifted gears to pursue his love of driving. “I wanted to get out and drive and this is a perfect opportunity for people who want to do that,” he said, before climbing in to “drive” the simulator, complete with authentic engine sounds, through a variety of weather conditions to include snow.

“Trades can provide for your future the rest of your life, if you pour yourself into it and learn your trade,” said Thompson. “Truck driving is not something that’s going to go away.”

ESCC’s CDL program is hosting an open house on the Ozark AAC campus July 23 for those interested in learning more about the program. “Our main goal is to produce safe, competent truck drivers on the road,” said Shiver

Thompson has over 20 years of truck driving experience. Williams started driving trucks in 1980 after attending a CDL school in Chipley, Fla. There were very few truck driving schools in the area at that time, he said. Both men came on board the ESCC CDL program when it first began in 2018. “This is a very in- demand profession and we usually have about a dozen businesses here to hire our students, “said Williams.

Thompson agreed. “The country moves on trucks. Without trucks, America stops,” said Thompson. “That’s just how it is. Trucks move America. Bottom line: trucks move America.”