APPLETON, Wis. (NBC 26). — A record-setting number of jobs need to be filled in the trucking industry and it's likely going to get much worse in the next ten years. That's according to the American Trucking Industry which estimates there are currently 80-thousand trucking jobs available. Their most recent report released this fall indicates that the shortage will likely more than double in less than 10 years.
Today truck driving instructors at Fox Valley Technical College say their students are finding jobs immediately after finishing an eight-week CDL course. Instructors add that their students are making anywhere from $40,000 to $80,000 dollars a year at their entry-level jobs after receiving their license.
"We're hearing it on the news. There's a tremendous amount of freight out there that needs to be moved so that creates more opportunities and opportunities create options and one of those options is pay," says Rob Behnke the Director of Truck Driving at Fox Valley Technical College.
Many truck driving courses being offered right now have waiting lists, as more and more job seekers sign up for courses. That's a stark difference compared to early on during the pandemic when instructors say those same courses were not filling up classrooms.
