Arkansas announces program to train displaced workers as truckers

GOV. MIKE BEBEE

The Trucker News Services

5/9/2008

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe today announced a new pilot initiative to train displaced workers and other eligible Arkansans to qualify as truck drivers.

The Trucking Workforce Pilot Initiative aims to train 300 Arkansans for trucking jobs and place them with trucking companies.

Beebe said the Department of Workforce Services will work with the Governor's Dislocated Workers Task Force and the trucking industry to recruit and place drivers. Training will take place through programs at ASU-Newport and Mid-South Community College.

"We have out-of-work Arkansans who need good jobs, and we have an industry with good jobs to fill," Beebe said. "This initiative will bring these two groups together and further build our workforce."

"The need for truckers is there, but we don’t have a pool of qualified people to draw from for those jobs," Steve Williams, chairman and CEO of Maverick USA, said. "State assistance with training and placement will help us take great strides in getting people ready for the road."

Maverick USA is located at North Little Rock, Ark.

The program will use approximately $1 million of existing funds to train as many as 300 Arkansans, the governor said, adding that it will take only four-to-five weeks for qualified applicants to go from enrollment to job placement.

Participants in the initiative will be screened, trained, complete the WorkKeys Assessment, receive their Arkansas Career Readiness Certificates and be placed with employers. Entry-rate salaries for these jobs range from $35,000 to $50,000.

Anyone seeking more information about the Trucking Workforce Pilot Initiative may contact Mike Kennedy with the Department of Workforce Services at (501) 682-3142 or mike.kennedy@arkansas.gov.