Ten graduates of the Yellow Driving Academy in New Mexico will soon be rolling down highways, making sure goods get to consumers.
The 10 recipients were awarded graduation certificates from the Yellow Corporation at the company’s Albuquerque terminal.
The Nov. 12 ceremony was an opportunity to show support for those who hold commercial driver's licenses (CDL), during this time of shortage.
"We've seen the importance of supporting CDL and recruiting CDL drivers because we're short nationwide," former Gov. Susana Martinez at the ceremony. "So making sure we have good drivers, safe drivers, making sure that they're safe and the people driving around them are safe, is making sure that goods are getting to the grocery store — our groceries, our commodities from the agriculture industry, oil and gas.”
According to a KOAT report, the training program is one of 22 in the U.S. started by the Yellow Corporation in a public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor. Located at the Albuquerque Academy since September 10, the program offers paid on-the-job training for students seeking a commercial driver's license and a truck-driving career.
Academy students paid no tuition and underwent classroom and hands-on-the-wheel training led by experienced drivers and certified instructors.
Martinez said commercial drivers are in need due to a nationwide shortage. "I think America has really woken up to the great need when we started to have some of the supply chain shortage," Martinez said. "We didn't have enough drivers."
The Yellow Corporation is based in Nashville, Tennessee, and offers regional, national and international shipping services.