Posted on 02/03/2007 6:32:11 PM PST by aculeus
After nurses, paramedics and vets, it is now the truck drivers from India who are in demand in the United States. The first batch of 79 lorry drivers, hired by a US company to meet the acute shortage of drivers in that country, would leave for America next week.
The drivers were selected from 200 aspirants, who were trained for four months at the state-of-the-art driver training facility at Ambapuram, near the coastal city of Vijayawada. The training included mastering the Yankee truckers’ lingo, manoeuvring the monstrous US trucks and learning how to integrate with American society.
According to the US firm, Gagan Global LLC, which has recruited the drivers, there are 20,000 vacancies for drivers in the US. On an average, a driver takes home $5,000 per month besides other benefits, yet there are few takers for the job in United States, as it involves staying away from home for too long.
This is the reason why American companies are seeking drivers from other countries. Since India has a large pool of drivers who can speak English, the companies are targeting the country.
“Though the US consultancy had actually sought 3,000 drivers, we agreed to recruit and train 200 of them initially,” said an official of the Overseas Manpower Consultancy of Andhra Pradesh (OMCAP). The curriculum for training at Ambapuram was formulated by the Western Truckers School, Hyderabad, as per US client specifications. The drivers were provided driving training on US model trucks and were educated about the traffic rules in that country.
Email Ashok Das: ashokdas2000@rediffmail.com
Looks like they really are filling jobs that Americans don't want!
I thought the pay was very low, compared to the amount of work required.
The Indian guys will soon find out the hard way. This is a very competitive industry where cutting costs is the name of the game.
Well, this could be fun to watch.
I hope they realize that we drive on the "right" side of the road!
My mother is a driver and it really looks like the trucking companies are doing their best to drive American drivers out of the industry.
GPS stole the cowboy freedom that truckers saw as the main attraction.
Driving mileage rates down? This is surprising given the shortage. XM radio is full of ads for truck drivers.
Yes, but for the average Indian, driving trucks here will be like making 200k a year back home. It's probably worth the hard work. Look at the illegal Mexicans who bust their butts. Same thing.
"My mother is a driver and it really looks like the trucking companies are doing their best to drive American drivers out of the industry"
What methods are they using to try to accomplish this?
Yeah the time on the road away from home is tough but there's always work available. I'm in construction right now and things are REALLY SLOW this time of year until spring. But the big rigs still roll.
Sometimes you've just got to gut it out and do the things you don't really want to do in order to be a success.
Hard Work, Self-Reliance and Rugged Individualism...That's the AMERICAN WAY!!!
10-4. I'm mashin' my motor to get to Shaky City before morning. Watch out for the Kojak with a Kodak near the pickle park.
My brother in law recently retired from the Navy after 20 years. He used his GI Bill benefits to go to truck driving school, and after finishing the course, was hired almost immediately. He said a big reason for the driver shortage was because so many candidates run afoul of the drug tests.
Rates aren't down. The problem is the lack of freight. My mother called today and said she's spending the next two days in KC because they won't give her any freight.
She's got 15 years with the same company with no accidents and a million mile medallion. Not exactly a rookie or problem driver. The same thing is happening with a lot of their top drivers.
See post 15
Well if I were working in the fright shipment business, this company would lose all my business tomorrow. And if I was their insurance company their policy would be canceled. You can take the drive out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the driver.
The insurance company is sure to lose millions on one are more of these drivers.
Can't say that I'm surprised. Just what we need. A druggie behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler.
No freight? Economy slowing down?
It is the same situation with the equipment operators here in Nevada's big mines. These mines pay pretty darn well: $18/hour with medical, vacation, bennies, and a whoppin' large "no time lost" bonus at the end of the year if safety goals are met (ie, no time lost due to accidents).
All you have to do is:
a) have a valid driver's license
b) a relatively clean driving record,
c) have a clean bill of health (ie, you're able to complete the safety drills)
d) get your MSHA safety certification,
e) pass the initial and subsequent random drug tests. There is no room for druggies on a mine site when they're driving huge machinery that could squash a one-ton pickup like it was a mouse under a conventional car. No room at all.
Some mines are now taking hair clippings, so they can catch drug use that fell between random testing intervals.
There is a low, single-digit percentage at most mines that, when faced with the first random drug test, will quit and walk off the site without taking the test, rather than get a record of being fired for drug use. Amazing. People love their stupid dope more than they want a really good job with really good benefits.
And we're not talking rocket-science stuff here -- we're talking safe, competent machine operations on a day-after-day basis. The sort of stuff that you can go in, punch a clock, do the job and come home and leave work at work. Your boss absolutely will not call you until your next shift begins and you're late.
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