MOREHEAD CITY — Carteret Community College will expand its commercial driver’s license program Wednesday by accepting a donation of an automatic tractor and refrigerated trailer from the Crystal Coast Country Club and its owner, PKS LLC, along with Ryder System Inc.
“We believe in this community and the college,” Jason Wordsworth, president of PKS LLC, said in a press release Friday. “With this donation we hope that it will give the students an opportunity for success. From the citizens that complete the course and receive their CDL’s, to the mechanic program that can learn and physically work on the tractor, trailer, refrigeration and freezer unit. We hope and believe that this donation increases the opportunities and incomes of the students and families that call this county home.”
The 2010 freight-liner donation will allow the college to expand its CDL program. Prior to the truck donation, CCC partnered with Craven Community College and shared a tractor-trailer and revenue from enrollments between the two programs. Now the college will be able to operate the program on its own and have a truck on campus full time. Additionally, the refrigerated trailer will serve as emergency storage for the college’s culinary and baking and pastry program in the event of an extended power outage due to natural disasters.
“This is an incredible opportunity for Carteret Community College and our community,” CCC President Dr. Tracy Mancini said. “We value our relationship with the Crystal Coast Country Club and its board members. With so many workers displaced from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is paramount that the college offer short-term training programs to get people back to work in high-demand, high-wage jobs. This donation will allow us to do just that. Students taking the course can be job-ready in just three months.”
Currently, the transportation industry has a shortage of 60,000 drivers, according to the American Trucking Associations. Students in the program study for their Class A CDL by receiving classroom instruction and experiencing behind-the-wheel truck driving.
Students who successfully complete the course are eligible for immediate employment. A recent indeed.com posting indicates the average salary for truck drivers is $61,250, with some companies such as Sysco and Walmart paying more than $86,000 a year.
The fall CDL class is scheduled to start Wednesday. Interested students should contact Rick McCormac, director of workplace training, at 252-222-6203 or [email protected]. Students wishing to register are required to obtain a physical and five-panel drug screening and submit a copy of their driving record for the past five years.
