What goes into being a truck driver these days?
For those curious to find out, Elgin Community College is holding an open house and information session Thursday, Nov. 5, at its new CDL Truck Driving Center in Building T, the consolidated home for its truck driving program.
Prior to opening the 4,000-square-foot, $6.6 million facility in August, students had to head to various parts of the campus for classes, driving simulators and behind-the-wheel sessions.
“We now have a dedicated space for training people seeking careers in truck driving,” program director Nate Davidson said. “This gives us opportunities to enhance instruction in ways that simply weren’t possible before.”
The new building has two classrooms, a dedicated simulation room and an adjacent training lot that exceeds Illinois Secretary of State requirements, Davidson said. The lot is larger and better separated from ECC’s parking lots than the prior training area was and it has 14 tractor units to pull semi-trailers and 16 trailers for hands-on training, he said.
To meet Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations on their way to earning their commercial driver’s licenses, students spend a combined 320 hours in the classroom, behind simulators and in on-the-road training, Davidson said. A good amount of the training is individualized, and some sessions include visits from recruiters looking to hire new drivers, he said.
“Earning a CDL and being prepared to enter the trucking industry are not necessarily the same thing,” Davidson said. “We deliberately choose to give students more than just what they need to pass the test. Our goal is to provide a stronger foundation on which they can continue building throughout their careers.”
Toward that end, the ECC program puts a strong emphasis on teaching the rules and regulations in the heavily regulated trucking industry, he said. It also stresses driver responsibility and safety, from securing loads to spotting distracted drivers and driving defensively.
The program can be completed in as little as eight weeks and is usually done in one semester, Davidson said. The cost is $5,751, which includes instruction, books, materials and driving, with fuel covered as well. Currently, 47 people are enrolled, most of whom are men.
Data from labor market data analytics firm Lightcast show truck drivers in the Midwest earn a median annual wage of $58,700, according to an ECC news release.
“The occupation is projected to have approximately 7,790 job openings annually in the region, with projected growth of 3% between 2025 and 2030,” the release said.
Contributing to the demand is an aging workforce and a shortage of younger drivers needs to replace those who are retiring, Davidson said.
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The training at ECC prepares students for the various types of trucking available. Getting a CDL can also open doors to careers in which such a license is useful, such as working for a municipal public works department or as a utility company lineman, he said.
As for the future of truck driving, Davidson noted that driverless trucks — which are already being used in some places — are a frequently discussed topic.
“Driving a truck, though, involves a lot more than steering,” Davidson said. “Human judgment is still going to be required.”
To that point, the ECC program is set up to prepare drivers for today’s market while remaining vigilant and keeping track of developing trends, he said.
The open house is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. followed by an information session at 4:30 p.m. To register to attend, go to elgin.edu/areas-of-study/cdl-truck-driving/grand-opening-rsvp.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The (Elgin) Courier-News.