Ranger College truck driving program gearing up for new class

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Ranger College’s next CDL program will begin on July 27 at its campus in Stephenville. The college offers CDL classes approximately every four weeks, and has courses slated for its campuses in Ranger, Olney and Brownwood. (Photo courtesy of Ranger College)

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Special to The Flash

by Tommy Wells, Public Information Officer for Ranger College

Want to make an excellent annual salary without having to attend classes for years? Want to travel and see other places?

If you answered yes to the above questions, Ranger College may just have the program to make your dreams come true. And those dreams could begin within a few weeks.

The Ranger College commercial truck driving course is gearing up for the start of its next Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) class at its Stephenville, Brownwood, Olney and Ranger campuses. The 4-week course, which is taught by Drive Pro, a Grapevine-based company with more than 30 years of experience in the transportation industry, helps students earn the CDL license, as well as find employment opportunities following graduation.

Drive Pro is member of the Commercial Vehicle Trainers Association.

“This is an exciting time to be a part of the transportation industry,” said Drive Pro President Gary Strube. “According to the ATA (American Trucking Association), there is currently a shortage of between 35,000 to 45,000 drivers in the U.S. They estimate the trucking industry will need to attract 100,000 new drivers a year for the next decade to meet the transportation demands. The opportunity for a good-paying career is here.”

“In some cases, you can spend four years in college to get a bachelor’s degree and start (a job) at $40,000 to $50,000. Here, you can go to the truck driving school for four weeks and start at that same salary almost immediately,” said Strube.

Strube said students enrolling in the CDL program should be aware of certain federal regulations concerning CDL drivers. Under current federal regulations, drivers between the ages of 18-20 can obtain a CDL license but are not permitted to drive outside of their home states. Only CDL holders over the age of 21 can travel across state lines, although there is a move nationally to repeal limitations on younger drivers. Additionally, new drivers should always carry the contact details of someone like this truck accident attorney Lutz FL in case an accident does happen.

Strube said many of the drivers who graduate with a Certificate of Completion from Ranger College land jobs almost before they finish the course through a pre-hire process.

“It is one of those things where you could graduate on a Friday and go to work on Monday,” he said. “The carriers will recruit them right out of the class. Quite possibly, they will have jobs making good money when they graduate.”

Strube said the next truck driving class will get under way on July 27 at the Erath County campus. As part of the course, each student driver will receive 200 contact hours of classroom and hands-on truck driver training, including street driving and backing maneuvers.

A class at Ranger College’s Brownwood, Ranger and Olney campuses are expected to start soon. Classes range in size from three to six drivers.

“This is a great field for young men and women to get into,” said Strube. “Especially for those that might not want to spend years in a classroom at this point in their lives, but still want to learn a skill that will give them a great career.”

For more information about the Ranger College CDL program contact Vice President Dr. Kerry Schindler at the Erath County campus at (254) 965-8875, or VP Stephen Flora at the Brownwood campus at (325) 641-5726, or Dr. Mike Winslow at the Olney campus at (940) 564-4111, or contact Drive Pro president, Gary Strube, at (940) 231-9306.

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