Drivers often struggle to find a CDL training company that is both worth the effort and not trying to rip them off in the process.
The problem arises when these opportunities turn from a prospective job opportunity to increased fees and the realization that a lot of money is owed to the sponsored company. With company sponsored CDL training, new truck drivers are getting the support they need, they training to help them excel and the security of a career after completing the CDL training school program successfully.
Where Sponsored Training Truly Shines
Sponsored training works very well when a person already works for a company. The idea is that the company will foot the bill so that their current employee can move to a new company position. In this case, company sponsored CDL training is truly beneficial. There are even sponsored training companies, such as Driver Solutions, that connect potential drivers to respective companies. These opportunities are few and far between. More often than not, a person will be looking for CDL training to enter into a new industry. The best part is that a person can make a lot of money by becoming a driver, but sponsorships may not always be the option.
Sponsorships Gone Wrong
It is impossible to mention every sponsorship available or to know if all of them are worthwhile. However, there are a laundry list of complaints that can be found online and in trucking forums about these companies and their sponsorship programs. Let’s examine the entire process before really determining what is occurring.
The Allure Companies make big promises for their sponsored students. On the outside, a potential driver will believe that their schooling is being paid for as long as they secure a job with the company. This sounds like the perfect scenario, right? Every driver will need a job, and working for one of these big companies right out of school sounds too good to be true. Unfortunately, this is often the case.
The Catch Obviously, when things seem too good to be true, they usually are. The dilemma arises when you read the fine print (oftentimes it isn’t provided) and find out that you are still responsible to pay back a student loan. Most of these companies advertise in a manner that makes students believe that they are paying for your education. However, this is not the case. Instead, they are financing the cost of your education and you are still liable to pay them back. This means that you are merely using the school as a lender rather than an actual backer.
It Gets Worse Okay, paying the company back, even if you work for them, may still be understandable. After all, you would have to pay for other driver solutions. However, there are many problems that arise during the course of training. These problems might be too much for a potential driver to handle. Among these problems are:
- Strung Along: Some students are strung along to keep them enrolled even after training should have been finished. Before the test can be taken, a person must secure a truck as well as a CDL licensed individual to go with them to testing. Oftentimes, these companies will not have someone available leaving the student without their license.
- Training: The paid training portion of schooling is another area which leaves a person feeling ripped off. While supervised, a person will earn far less per week than a normal driver makes in two days. Wages of 300 – 400 dollars a week for driving over 600 miles a day is simply too low. Furthermore, tuition costs are automatically taken out of this check.
- Commitment: Job placement with the company that sponsored a person is not all that it seems. In fact, the starting wage is offered at a much lower rate than other drivers. This means that the driver is taking a pro-rated salary.
- Truck Leasing: Many companies also require their students to lease trucks with them. These trucks are typically overpriced and a student has no other options open to them. This further adds on to the cost of the program.
- Horror Stories: As a person that graduates from these sponsorships, you are fully required to meet your contract agreements. This means you must work for the company even after the loan has been paid back. Terminating this contract means grave consequences for a driver as many people have had comments made on their DAC report that cause them to struggle to find future work.
Driver Solutions and various other companies are not in control of what sponsors do. While many people have had success by going through a sponsorship, others have found that it would have been cheaper to go to a local school for training. Some companies like Waktins Shepard are starting to sponsor new drivers with regional affiliates. The truth is that the lower wages and the hidden contractual agreements often inflate the price of schooling greatly. If you happen to fail your exam, the company will not be responsible for any further education that is needed. That means that you must pay the loan back while not even having your CDL.