UA, NTI Partner with Malvern School on Trucking Course
by January 18, 2016 12:00 am 146 views
The University of Arkansas Global Campus in Rogers now offers a commercial driver’s license test preparation course, and it is enlisting the help of two technical colleges.
The leadership at Northwest Technical Institute in Springdale and the Mid-America Truck Driving School Inc. in Malvern on Jan. 7 signed an agreement with the Global Campus to collaborate on the course.
“The UA Global Campus has been expanding our non-credit programming to meet the training needs of the local workforce and one area of focus will be on CDL training,” said Tara Dryer, director of training, corporate development and academic outreach for the Global Campus. “With this partnership, we hope to expand the number of individuals being placed in careers after obtaining their CDLs.”
The five-week, 200-hour program is meant to help address a nationwide shortage of drivers in the trucking industry, with a specific emphasis on recruiting women and military veterans, according to a press release from the UA.
The course includes classroom and behind-the-wheel training and a course final exam, and it will equip students to operate any classification of commercial vehicle, including tractor and trailer vehicles, dump trucks, log trucks, cement mixers, school buses and coach buses, according to the press release.
The class starts at the beginning of each month.