NEMCC gets donation that will help train more truckers for the road

Morgan Van Lines donates an 18 wheeler to the community college

BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A local community college gets an 18 wheeler to help train future truck drivers.

Steve Morgan owns Morgan Van Lines and says the moving company wanted to partner with NEMCC, to do what it can to help alleviate the truck driver shortage.

“We had trucks coming off our depreciation schedule,  it’s a great program here, Northeast does a wonderful job and they turn out a really good product,” Morgan said.

The 18 wheeler will be used in NEMCC’s Commercial Truck Driving Program.  The eight-week course prepares students to take their Class A CDL exam and it can put them in the driver’s seat of a new career.

“It’s a win-win situation for everyone, provides our people an opportunity to get a good job and provides a need for moving companies out there, such as Morgan Moving,” said NEMCC President Dr. Ricky Ford.

The donation comes at a time when there is a shortage of truckers across not only Mississippi but also the entire country.

With the right training, drivers entering the trucking industry can have a lucrative career.

“It varies, but a new driver can make 50  thousand a year, easy, the first couple of months, but then you notice after a bit of experience they are on track to make as much as 100 thousand dollars a year, as a company driver,” said Instructor Martin Arnold.

Some trucking companies are offering $15,000 bonuses to drivers who already have their CDL.

Experts say along with the trucker shortage, a  lack of workers at warehouses and ports is also fueling the supply chain crisis.