There are more trucking jobs open right now than people who live in Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Blackfoot combined. It’s a vital part of our economy and you can become certified right here in eastern Idaho.
“87 percent of everything we receive in the state of Idaho comes by truck or delivered by truck at some point,” said Lynn Jorgensen, School Director of Sage Trucking.
To help meet the demand, Sage Trucking of Blackfoot has expanded their services and they now train drivers in 25 locations throughout the country. In most cases, drivers can become certified in about a month. And with so many opportunities out there, students sometimes land jobs before they even graduate the program.
“In the trucking industry, if you look at it, we are usually the last ones to see a slowdown because people still need the goods and products that the truckers bring in,” said Jorgensen. “But we do feel it but when the economy starts picking up, whose the first ones to feel the upswing in the economy, and that will be truckers because the products need to be delivered again and the needs for truckers rise. And so if you have a CDL, there’s no reason why you should ever be unemployed.”
One thing that is often associated with trucking is its impact on families but it doesn’t have to be that way because in many cases you can take family members with you.
“Can I bring my wife, can I bring my children, can I bring my dog, we had one guy that wanted to bring his chicken and they don’t allow chickens,” said Jorgensen. “A lot of companies don’t allow pets anymore in the truck because of the damage they can do in the truck but many do. Many allow that but most of them have what they call a rider policy and so if your wife wants to go with you, that’s great.”
Of course you don’t have to go through a program to get your CDL. There are other ways of joining this profession but if you are interested, Sage Trucking has classes that start every Monday.
It was just announced that CSI and Sage Trucking have reached an agreement to begin offering truck driving classes at CSI’s Mini Cassia Center in Burley. The first class will start Monday, Feb. 4.
http://www.sageschools.com/
