Lehigh Times

Gov. Tom Wolf and U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh recently opened a new Yellow Corp. truck-driving apprenticeship in Carlisle, which will provide applicants with four weeks of classes and hands-on training.

Students earning their commercial driver's licenses (CDL) are paid throughout the program and are not charged tuition, Wolf's office reported in a release. The program takes place at the Yellow CDL Driving Academy, registered via the DOL's apprenticeship program.

"Apprenticeship programs prepare workers for success by equipping them with the skills to compete for good jobs that offer family-sustaining wages," Wolf said in the release. "The investments we're making in apprenticeships and other forms of hands-on and on-the-job training are already helping us get more Pennsylvanians into careers where they can succeed. This is more important than ever as Pennsylvania's economy continues to rebound following the COVID-19 pandemic."

The Wolf administration established the Department of Labor and Industry's Apprenticeship and Training Office (ATO) in 2016, Wolf's office reported. The ATO fosters and helps grow apprenticeship programs throughout Pennsylvania. It oversees over 17,000 existing apprentices, as well as approximately 5,000 new apprentices and over 1,500 active apprenticeship programs. The ATO's goal is to spread apprenticeship programs to industries and jobs that don't traditionally use the model, as well as make sure that there are ample opportunities accessible to underrepresented areas in the state.

"The success of Yellow's CDL academy in producing some of the safest drivers on the road reflects the great power and promise of apprenticeship to be a proven workforce tool in the trucking industry," Walsh said in the release. "The trucking apprenticeship challenge has shown that joint labor management programs and public-private partnerships are critical, and that we succeed when we work together."

Yellow Corp. counts 32,000 employees among its ranks nationwide and moves over 20 million shipments each year for over 250,000 customers, Wolf's office reported. The organization has recently opened 17 driving academies and is focused on safety and reduction of emissions, as well as employing more female drivers through its Women's Inclusion Network.