The Professional Truck Driver Institute has recertified truck driver training programs in four schools and named David Heller as director.


"Because of the economy, companies naturally have become more selective, and we are seeing more and more requests for graduates of PTDI-certified courses," said Harry Kowalchyk, president of National Tractor Trailer School, which received five-year program recertifications for both its Buffalo and Liverpool, N.Y., locations. "The cost of PTDI certification is strictly a cost of doing business for us."

Kowalchyk said there's been a change in the demographics of their students over the last year. "We're leaning more toward the mature worker, those who have been displaced as a result of a company downsizing, people transitioning from the military or other industry, and retired folks reentering the workplace to supplement their income," Kowalchyk said. "Our student population has increased probably about 15 percent in the last year."

"Driver retention has improved as a result of the economy, and prospective drivers are coming into the industry from much different backgrounds," said Scott Barker, vice president of safety, recruiting and driver services for Swift Driving Academy, which received five-year recertification for its Millington, Tenn., location.

Heller, who also serves as the Truckload Carriers Association's director of safety and policy, said he sees PTDI "as the staple of truck driver training. PTDI is setting the bar and expects to maintain its high level of standards. It's not about righting the ship; the ship has already been righted. It's more about maintaining the status quo."

The Phoenix location of the American Institute of Technology is the fourth program that received PTDI recertification in April.