With 4,000 open CDL driver positions in this region alone, the Permian Strategic Partnership has donated $3.5 million to the Odessa College Truck Driving Academy to add more trucks, instructors and scholarship funds to get more big rig drivers on the road.
The announcement of the investment was made at the Odessa College Sewell Auto Tech facility Wednesday.
“Investing in certifications for commercial drivers is a crucial step to ensure the safety of the Permian Basin and to provide training for essential in-demand and high-paying careers. Currently, Texas Workforce Commission data shows that there are nearly 4,000 open CDL positions in the Texas Permian region alone,” PSP President and CEO Tracee Bentley said.
“Additionally, the Texas Department of Public Safety estimates 65% of commercial vehicles in the Permian Basin are out of compliance. This is why the PSP zeroed in on proactively addressing CDL training as part of our efforts to improve road safety. We will take a first bite at the apple by adding nearly 100 additional students per year to the Odessa College program and we hope to continue supporting CDL training programs across West Texas and Southeast New Mexico. The quality and high standards of the Odessa College Truck Driving Academy gives us great confidence that we will be able to see success as we train and retain new truck drivers right here in the Permian Basin,” Bentley said.
Bentley added that she wanted to acknowledge that this initiative is a natural fit for PSP given that they already have successful partnerships on education and health care with OC.
She added that OC President Gregory Williams and his team at the college are among the finest in the country and share PSP’s vision for ensuring this region is known for its trained workforce, quality education, accessible health care, and our modernized transportation system.
“This cannot happen without partnerships like this one. We are thrilled to continue supporting programs with Odessa College and we look forward to implementing yet another successful initiative together,” Bentley said.
Truck Driving Academy Director William Church said Wednesday’s event was a dream come true.
“Our mission is to educate students on the importance of safety, operating a commercial motor vehicle and knowing the rules and regulations according to the FMCSR (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations). We started this program with six trucks and two instructors averaging 60 students per year for the first two years. Today, the program has 10 trucks, seven instructors and an average of over 140 students per year in the last two years,” Church said.
“With the donation from the Permian Strategic Partnership, the truck driver program will be able to add additional trucks and trailers that will help increase the student enrollment to over 200 students per year in the upcoming future,” Church added. “With the help of knowledgeable and trustworthy instructors, we will meet that goal.”
OC Truck Driving Academy graduate Celeste Venegas graduated in August and said the program was awesome. She is a single mom of two boys who think it’s pretty cool that their mom drives an 18-wheeler.
“I came here knowing nothing, but with the great instructors that this school has, I was able to come out here as a safe driver” and landed a job right away, Venegas said.
“This school taught me how to be a safe driver; how to be confident on the road and also have fun while driving because … sometimes it can be stressful, but they taught me so much that now I can do it with my eyes closed,” she said. But not literally.
“As a single mom, I always tell women, we can do it. I’m (in) the oilfield. I’m financially blessed. I get jobs offers all the time and I can still count on Mr. Church and the other instructors if I have a question … When they told me that their goal was for us to be safe and perfection out there, they really meant it. They answered all my questions still to this day. I’m very thankful to be here and thank you for all your teachings and all your motivational speeches every morning,” Venegas said.
Church said the growth of the program will get even better and continue to grow in the near future.
The training is five weeks. Getting the CDL is separate from the training and his pass rate is 99.9 percent for that. The pass rate for students earning a CDL is 100 percent, Church said.
If a student fails the test the first time, Church said they will stay with them until they pass.
“One of the things we told the students at the beginning, we leave no student behind. We’re going to work with you as much as possible, so basically the person that’s going up to get their CDL license it’s 100 percent, or we might have a couple that have to stop due to family issues,” but when they come back, they can still get their license, Church said.
Vice President of Advancement Jacqui Gore said the investment has been in the works since October.
Gore said the $3.5 million will include two more instructors, five 2024 Peterbilt trucks, three belly dump trailers, two flatbed trailers, five modified seat installments — an extra section to make the cab a classroom so that students have a place to sit and learn in the truck cab — and truck driving scholarships totaling $2 million.
“We’ll have a process in place where students who would like to apply for the scholarships will apply through our financial aid department and will complete the FAFSA, so it will be based on need as financial aid reviews those applications and selects those who will be awarded scholarships for the Truck Driving Academy,” Gore said.
They don’t have an endowment right now, but it is something that they could look at establishing as they work with PSP.
“There could be other entities in the area who would like to also contribute and then that would help it grow,” Gore said.
