TEXARKANA - Miller County’s second-largest employer has teamed up with the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope to train potential employees through the college’s Texarkana campus.
Texarkana-based Southern Refrigerated Transport Inc. has partnered with the Texarkana campus to train a minimum of 130 drivers each year, safety director Eric Nelson said.
The course to obtain a commercial driver’s license is four weeks long and includes classroom and driving instruction. Cost is $3,200 per person. All classes are taught at Four States Fairgrounds in Texarkana. Drivers must be 23 years old and able to pass a pre-employment drug screen.
“There is a large turnover in this industry,” Nelson said. “Teaming with the college is important, because it gives us a constant influx of drivers, both for the company and for the industry. Right now, we’re under one of the worst driver shortages ever, and we need an influx of new blood into the industry.”
Fifteen students already have finished the course, and Nelson said another 15 students are enrolled. He said every student who passes will have a job with Southern Refrigerated Transport.
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 03/26/2014