No Experience? No Problem!
No one is born knowing how to drive a truck and it takes more than a CDL to be a professional truck driver. R. E. West specializes in helping provide an opportunity for employment in the trucking industry to those with little or no experience. We have been training drivers for over thirty years and over that time have developed what we feel is one of the best on-the-job training programs in the entire industry.
Here's just a few reasons why we feel our training program is an excellent way to become a professional truck driver:
We pay you to train
That's right - we pay you to train. On top of any sign-on incentives you may qualify for, R. E. West considers its trainees employees and pays them through the entire course of their training.
NO contracts or fine print
We are completely open about our training process. If for some reason you do not make it through training, the only thing we ask is that you pay back any sign-on bonus you may have received. We do not ask you to sign any sort of contract or non-compete to receive our training.
A Proven track record of success
Our training program consistently turns out some of the best young drivers in the industry. Many of our veteran drivers who have been with R. E. West for many years got their start just like you, coming off the street with little to no experience and looking for an opportunity at a better career. Our training instructors are both certified 3rd party testers by the state of Tennessee and are highly sought after for their training and testing abilities. They hold our trainees to the highest standard; you can be confident that once you've completed our training course you will be ready to get rolling.
Read on for more information on how we can help you achieve your goal of a fruitful career in the transportation industry.
If you need your CDL...
So you've done your research and decided that becoming a professional truck driver is your next career move. Don't go into debt to get your CDL! We are here to offer you not only a fully fledged and highly successful training program, but also a JOB. R. E. West will PAY YOU to get your CDL and become a driver for our company. We don't make you sign a contract; we don't send you to someone else's school then make you worry about tuition reimbursement. We bring you to our facility in Ashland City, TN and train you from the ground up on the skills necessary to obtain your CDL.
Our training program starts after you complete the hiring process. Once you've been sent for a drug test and physical, you will go to a local testing facility in your home state and apply for a CDL learner's permit. To obtain this permit, you will need to pass a written test on several areas of knowledge surrounding driving a truck. Our recruiters will be glad to help you get ready for the permit test by providing study aids. Additionally, R. E. West recommends using the CDL Pass software, available on iPhone, Android, and PC. This is paid software, however, after you have come to work here at R. E. West, we will reimburse you the cost of the software, just provide us with proof of purchase.
Once you have obtained your learner's permit, you will begin two weeks of intensive training with our instructors in Ashland City. Jerry and Amy will work with you in the classroom, on our backing course, and over the road to prepare you for the pre-trip and skills portions of the CDL exam. Class sizes are kept small in order to make sure you receive the amount of one-on-one attention you need. We have an over 90% success rate with our trainees obtaining their CDLs; all we ask is that you observe your trainer's instructions and work through our process.
After obtaining your CDL, you will be matched with an over-the-road driver trainer for the completion of your training. Our driver trainers are all seasoned veterans who have been selected not only for their skills but also for their ability to help inexperienced drivers to improve. Together, you will work through our driver training manual. This manual is set up to teach you not only the technical aspects of being a professional driver but also the "soft" skills that you will need such as learning how to live out on the road, eating properly, and time management.
You will spend at least three weeks on the road with your driver trainer. At the conclusion of that time, you will come back to Ashland City and complete one final road test. After that you will be assigned a truck and join our fleet as a fully fledged driver.
If you have your CDL but don't have any experience...
If you are a driver who has obtained their CDL via a trucking school or self-study and testing via a 3rd party tester but don't have at least 6 months of experience, R. E. West has a program that can help you as well. Again, we start by completing our hiring process. Once hired, we work with you to evaluate your skill level and place either in our on-yard training program to brush up on the basics or put you with one of our driver trainers. Once with a driver trainer you will spend, at most, three weeks out on the road working through our training manual. After you complete your time with your on-the-road trainer, you will do a final road test and then be issued your own truck
After your training, you aren't on your own
After you've completed your training and are out in your own truck, your career as a professional truck driver is just beginning. We realize that getting started can be daunting, not only are you still learning about your new job, you are also getting acclimated as a new team member with R. E. West. For this reason, we make sure that you have a support system to set you up for success. Every new driver is given the full contact info for their driver trainer and are encouraged to call them with any questions they might have. Part of your trainer's job is to continue to help educate you as you work on your own over the road.
Additionally, every new driver is assigned a "buddy" from our office. This person, not someone you will work with on a daily basis, will call you at least once a week just to check in to see how you are acclimating to your new career. They are there to help you with any questions or concerns you might have. They won't always have the answer, but they will work to make sure you get to the right person to help you out. Your buddy will check-in with you on a regular basis throughout your first year with R. E. West.
What are you waiting for? Its time to kickstart your new career!
You won't find a better way to enter the trucking world than our training program. If you are ready to study, work hard, and believe in yourself, then we can help you embark on a career that will help you and your family find financial stability and life satisfaction. Being a professional truck driver isn't an easy profession, however it is a rewarding one. We are here to make your transition into this career as low-stress as possible. If you are ready to get started, just fill out an application or contact one of our recruiters to get more information.