The Next Generation in Trucking (NGT) Foundation has embarked on a transformative mission – altering the perception of trucking as a career path. This endeavor comes through a curriculum companion, specifically tailored to bolster high school commercial driver’s license programs nationwide.
Unveiling a pioneering curriculum companion that comprises five online modules meticulously aligned with the Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) standards, alongside an assortment of classroom activities, videos, handouts, and evaluations, NGT is poised to provide substantial support to high school educators in delivering a comprehensive yearlong CDL course.
When the course is completed, and students are at least 18, they will be well-prepared to undertake the commercial learner’s permit exam successfully. This curriculum is available free of charge to NGT members and affiliated schools. Thirty-five schools have already shown interest, with expectations of doubling this number next year.
“This is brand new and will be able to get trucking programs in high schools scaled across the country,” said Lindsey Trent, president, and co-founder of NGT. “We hope this will help change the image of trucking. It’s about educating the next generation, their parents, and schools about the trucking industry and supply chain. If we can make trucking a first career choice instead of a second and third, we think that will elevate the image of trucking. They can choose to be a heavy equipment operator, welder, or plumber; why can’t we make trucking a career choice for high school students.”
The curriculum companion is a web-based resource carefully designed to complement online ELDT courses catering to adult learners while adapting materials to suit high school students and through add-ons like hands-on activities. In addition to high schools, Trent anticipates that NGT’s carrier members, who are training providers, will benefit from and be interested in utilizing the curriculum guide.
The course materials are not just geared towards obtaining a CDL but also intend to equip students for long, healthy careers. The course covers safety measures such as SafeWork Training: Powered with Worklete, for injury prevention and The Supply Chain Fitness Company for health and nutrition. It also features practical aspects of having a career, like lab hours with driver simulation training and honing golf cart backing skills. It even includes field trips, guest speakers, and opportunities for industry engagement.
“Imagine how different our industry would look and feel if trucking was a first career choice for more people,” said Dave Dein, co-founder of the NGT Foundation. “Ten years from now, we’ll look back at this point as this defining moment in the trucking industry when high schools took a proactive approach and provided the highest level of training for our students.”
Dein is a teacher at the flagship high school CDL program at Patterson High School. Ricardo Jimenez, a recent graduate from Patterson, said that he had never contemplated trucking as a viable career until a friend encouraged him to enroll in the trucking course.
“I thought it wasn’t a real career and that there was no passion or vision in it … I not only developed a passion for trucking, but I also learned about the impact that truck drivers have around the world,” Jimenez said. “The trucking program at Patterson High School changed my life, and it has changed the lives of many other students who have enrolled in the course. I believe that with more programs like this across the country, we can inspire more young students to find their passion in trucking.”
Source: Commercial Carrier Journal
