The home page of Hirschbach Motor Lines' website welcomes visitors with a bold statement: " Not Your Typical Trucking Company."
So it just seems natural that this Dubuque, Iowa-based temperature-controlled carrier would have an atypical approach to putting drivers into some of its 2,400 trucks.
Brian Hammond joined Hirschbach a bit more than a year ago to start an in-house driver training program that prepares students to be successful driving for Hirschbach as they earn their CDL. Unlike many programs, participants in the one Hammond oversees are paid as they learn, and also have their lodging and meals paid for by the company during their four weeks in the classroom and another four on the road with a driver/trainer.
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In this episode of the Truckers News Podcast, Hammond talks about a primary goal of the program: keeping the drivers Hirschbach trains with the company until they retire. He also explains Hirschbach's driver training program is already compliant with the new federally-mandated entry-level driver training requirements that take effect in February.