The American Trucking Associations (ATA) today thanked this country’s veterans, and encouraged those returning from military service to consider joining thousands of others already in the trucking industry.
“Serving in our nation’s armed forces is one of the highest callings an American can have,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “Today, we thank all of them for their sacrifices.
“Fleets have found that veterans are good, dedicated employees who have demonstrated the skills necessary to safely drive large trucks. And, thanks to recent changes that allow veterans with experience driving in the service to waive the skills test for a commercial driver’s license and to take CDL tests where they are stationed, rather than in their home state, it is less complicated than ever before for veterans to get jobs in our industry.”
ATA Chairman Duane Long, chairman of Longistics, Raleigh, N.C. said veterans can help trucking companies meet the current driver shortage.
“One of trucking’s biggest challenges is finding enough qualified, safe drivers to move America’s goods,” said Long. “Thankfully, if there’s one thing our veterans have proven capable of, it is rising to meet a challenge.”
Long added that there was even more that the government could do to aid in the transition from soldier to driver.
“While veterans can use the GI Bill to pay for CDL school, other veterans educational grant programs from the Department of Education, Department of Labor or the VA are closed off to driving schools,” he said. “We should open those grant programs up to make it easier for veterans who want to learn to drive a truck to qualify.”
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