Welcome to CDL Truck Driving

General Information

The Professional Truck Driving Department offers a variety of training options for students wishing to work in the transportation industry. All students must participate in a random drug-testing program either through SLCC or, if company sponsored, through the company’s drug-testing program. People 18 or older may obtain a CDL for driving within the state of Utah (intra-state). People over 21 years of age may obtain a CDL for driving between the 50 states (inter-state). When hiring, most companies for insurance reasons, require applicants to be 23 years of age. Most diesel systems technology technicians working in the field are required to have a CDL driver’s license.

There's a Lot Riding on This Industry

Every time you go to the supermarket, you benefit from the indispensable service provided by the trucking industry. From the canned goods you find on the shelves to the fresh produce you buy, virtually all of the products you use on a daily basis find their way to your community through the skills of the professional truck drivers that range the highways and interstates of America. While some products are transported by ship, train or airplane, nearly every item must rely upon trucking for some portion of its journey to your local store.

It's not difficult to imagine why there's so much riding on our nation's trucking industry.

Got the Drive for a Great New Career?

You may not know this, but driving a tractor-trailer takes virtually as much skill as flying an airplane. While truck driving doesn't demand the formal education of some other professions, it requires a high degree of intelligence and common sense.

SLCC/Skills Center can help you put that intelligence and common sense to use. Offering one of the finest truck driving programs in the country, we provide hands-on training, personalized instruction and open entry/open exit enrollment to enable students to begin one of our courses of study at any time during the year. When you finish your training with the SLCC/Skills Center program, you can expect a successful career as a competent, qualified professional driver.

Programs

The Skills Center Professional Truck Driving Department offers three programs.  We offer a 120 hour, 160 hour and 280 hour program.  Visit the Programs page for complete details.

Specific Interest

What if I don't want to take the entire program?  We offer a (CDL) Upgrade Course.  The length can be 40 or 80 hours.  This course helps people who have had previous truck driving experience prepare for the CDL road test.  Prior approval is necessary for this course.  You can discuss your qualifications with the Program Coordinator at (957-5805) or the following email address: al.drechsel@slcc.edu .  Visit the Programs page for more details.

Professional Truck Driving courses may be taken separately.  You may find that a single course satisfies your requirements.  We can do that.  You must have the necessary prerequisites and you can discuss your qualifications for a specific course with an admissions adviser at (957-3354) Skills.Center@slcc.edu or the program coordinator  (957-5805) al.drechsel@slcc.edu .

Are Jobs Available?

Yes!  The local and national market for professional truck drivers is very good.  We suggest you look in the local news paper under "Drivers" or "Truck Drivers".  You might also look at web sites such as http://jobs.utah.gov.  Some jobs may require experience, but most truck lines  will hire student drivers.