The Virginia Trucking Association (VTA) recently partnered with Virginia Ready to start a driver recruitment program in the state, and J. Ward Best, vice president of Atlantic Bulk Carrier and VTA chairman, is determined to spread the word.
Best recently spoke to the Richmond Times-Dispatch about the trucking industry’s growing driver shortage, and how the new program helps address the problem, while making the rounds with local media. Virginia Ready, a non-profit organization formed in the wake of COVID-19, provides financial incentives for Virginia residents who want to receive training for in-demand jobs—like those behind the wheel of a tank truck.
“We’ve gotten a lot of good press on this through television, radio, and newspaper interviews throughout the state,” Best told Bulk Transporter. “I hope this attention will help bring more people into the training programs supported by VA Ready and, ultimately, into the tank truck industry.”
American Trucking Associations says the trucking industry is short 80,000 drivers as of last year. Richmond, Va.-based ABC, a liquid and dry bulk hauler that celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021, could use a few more, too. The carrier reported last year that if it hired 20 drivers today, they’d all be on the road tomorrow.
Best hopes the new Virginia Ready Initiative can help.
The program’s goals include training and hiring 100 truck drivers in 100 days, and assisting in state-wide efforts to recruit prospective drivers for community-college training schools in Virginia. The initiative would provide $1,000 payments as cash incentives to individuals who enroll in and complete a truck driver training program at a Virginia community college, and then pass a test to earn a commercial driver’s license.
“I believe this pilot program holds great potential for our industry and, as the chairman of the Virginia Trucking Association, I was proud to help coordinate this project between VA Ready and the VTA,” Best said, adding that ABC is one of eight trucking companies participating in the program.
According to the local report, median pay for Richmond-area truckers is about $54,000. Many professional drivers earn more, depending on experience and commodities hauled. Tank Truck drivers averaged more than $70,000 last year, whether they were paid by the mile or percentage of revenue/load, according to Cottingham & Butler’s 2021 Trucking Benchmark Driver Compensation & Benefits Survey.
The Virginia Ready Initiative was started two years ago to assist Virginia residents who lost their jobs during the pandemic, helping them to learn skills for new trades. The effort has the financial backing of 25 Virginia businesses.
Participants get $1,000 payments after completing courses and passing credential exams in the Virginia Community College system’s FastForward program, which offers short-term training classes in areas like phlebotomy, computer systems support, plumbing, pipefitting, welding, truck driving, and electrical power line installation.
Virginia Ready’s Taylor Beck reports 3,400 people have completed community college courses through the Virginia Ready Initiative since its inception.
Approximately 850 people have enrolled in CDL programs, Beck said.
“Atlantic Bulk Carrier signed onto this pilot to help attract and steer new drivers to the quality carriers in our state, and to introduce the tank-truck segment of trucking to these new drivers,” Best said. “The need for drivers in the tank-truck arena and throughout trucking continues to grow. We all need to find new and innovate ways to bring more people into this industry.”
