commercial drivers license With high demand for drivers, HutchCC CDL thrives. Photos & Story | Rachel Wilson
Dale Baker | Lead Driving Instructor
Photo | Rachel Wilson David Krueger, Business & Industry Professor, asks students a question about the material shown on the slide. He taught the classroom part of the program at South Campus.
On a cold November morning, large gusts of wind blow as a cold front comes in. Through the cold comes the first student driver of the day on South Campus. The Hutchinson Community College Commercial Drivers License course is underway. HutchCC offers a CDL course for students to receive their Class A license. Students must attend the course that spans over two Saturdays as well as pass the written test and driving exam. Driving instructors provide opportunities to practice driving and driving exams Monday through Friday daily. This all may be about to change as the need and want for CDL training increases nationally. “There is an anticipated large number of students coming in, especially after February. The rules are changing, so it’s going to be a longer course, it’s going from a one credit hour to a four credit hour and so I think more people will be in here. So in anticipation for that, I volunteered to take the course so I can help teach it,” Charles Chambers, Business Instructor, said. Students of all ages and careers are present in these classes. “I’m in lineman school, so, well you have to have at least a B, but I’m getting my A,” Chasen Sowell, Wichita, said. “Yeah I’m going to try to work with Evergy, but it’s kind of hard to get hired with them.” This is the catch for many students. Younger students get their required licensing but lack the experience many employers require, making it difficult for them to enter the workforce. “I never went through any of these classes way back in ‘94, ‘95. There were no classes, you just got in the truck and go, not a semi, it was like a fuel truck for the airplanes in Kansas City. And that was your training, get in and do it, don’t run into anything,” Chambers said about working for Ogden Aviation in Kansas City. Even business owners are working to receive their CDL.
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