Demand For Semi-Truck Drivers Increases

As more consumers are turning to online stores for their shopping needs, the trucking industry is looking for more qualified truck drivers.

American Truck Training in Oklahoma City graduates about 500 new truck drivers from its 160-hour, three-week course each year. 

Company President Jerome Redmond said they place 98 percent of their graduates in truck driving jobs that pay between $37,000 and $60,000 a year. 

He said there’s a truck driver shortage right now partly because “baby boomer” drivers are retiring, but also because so many consumers are now buying goods online. 

He said those consumers want those products within a few days, not a few weeks.

“You don’t have to have a high school diploma to do this in this state, I mean this is awesome,” he said from company headquarters Wednesday afternoon. 

Yukon resident Donna Massey is a married mother of four, who has almost completed all of her training at American Truck Training. 

She said the hardest part of getting a commercial driving permit is learning how to back up a big rig, but she said she anticipates all the hard work, and the $5,000 coursework fee will be worth it.

“The money is good too, that had a lot to do with it was the money,” she said.