Yellow Corporation Opens New Truck Driving Academies, Training the Next Generation of Professional Drivers

Yellow Corporation, one of the largest and longest operating trucking companies in America, is addressing the nation’s shortage of truck drivers head-on. The Company is adding two new Driving Academies to its stable of 14 schools to prepare the next generation of professional truck drivers for careers in transportation.

The new academies are located in two of the nation’s top transportation hubs, Marietta (Atlanta market), GA and Cincinnati, OH, which are gateways to the South and Midwest.

“We’re pleased to offer additional driver training locations. Our goal is to train 1,000 new drivers through our academies this year,” said Darren Hawkins, Yellow Chief Executive Officer. “Our drivers are top shelf and trained by the best.”

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Yellow’s Driving Academies are owned and operated by the Company. Its longest-serving, most experienced driving professionals provide student instruction and peer-to-peer mentorship.

“Everything we teach emphasizes safety: safety of our drivers, colleagues, customers and the driving public. That remains our top priority,” said Hawkins.

Students enrolled in the Academies are provided classroom training combined with hands-on, behind-the-wheel instruction with experienced safety professionals. The program is tuition-free for all participants. At the completion of their instruction, trainees sit for the commercial driver’s license (CDL) test and, upon passage, complete their initial apprenticeship training with veteran Yellow drivers. When all driving qualifications are met, graduates will join Yellow’s team of 14,000 professional drivers.

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“For anyone aspiring to a career that provides a good salary and full benefits that gets them on the open road and not behind a desk, trucking is a smart choice. Many of our drivers spend their entire careers with Yellow,” said Hawkins.

The U.S. trucking industry faces a shortage of drivers needed to keep pace with the high demand of goods ordered by consumers and manufacturers. According to the American Trucking Associations, the industry is currently 80,000 drivers short and will need another one million drivers over the next decade to replace those drivers who retire or exit the industry.

With the addition of Yellow Corporation’s Marietta, GA and Cincinnati, OH locations, Yellow has 16 established Driving Academies nationwide: Atlanta/Marietta GA, Charlotte NC, Chicago IL, Cincinnati OH, Cleveland OH, Denver CO, Fort Worth TX, Hagerstown MD, Indianapolis IN, Kansas City, KS, Memphis TN, Nashville TN, Pico Rivera, CA, Portland OR, Salt Lake City, UT and South Bend IN. The Company plans to open additional locations in 2022.

Yellow’s 16 Driving Academies are certified as Department of Labor apprenticeship programs. The Department of Labor apprenticeship program is designed to provide paid on the job training while workers train for a highly skilled job.

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