Students Steer to Prairie Farms

A pipeline into the workforce has been created between Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc. and Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) over the last several years. Former semi-truck driving and Commercial Drivers License (CDL) NICC students have completed their education, and quickly got behind the wheel and started a career that guarantees they are home every night, has great benefits and a pension plan.

Over the last six years, Prairie Farms has hired five former NICC students. Joe Kirk, Prairie Farms’ distribution manager, recognized the quality of drivers coming from NICC programs.

The attention to detail has stood out the most,” he said. “The instructor does a great job preparing the students to be proactive drivers instead of reactive drivers.

NICC offers Class A and B CDL programs, along with entry-level semi-truck driving courses. The training used by the instructors is a combination of hands-on and classroom work, and it only takes a matter of weeks to complete the courses and start your new job.

“Students in our CDL program have access to simulators, driving ranges, online resources and have a low 3:1 student to instructor ratio for more individualized attention and learning opportunities,” Martin Hemann, Transportation Program Developer at NICC, said.

“NICC offers a very thorough four-week program which gives students a much better opportunity to succeed in the truck driving industry when they complete the program. Not all CDL programs in Iowa offer this with their courses.” caret-right nicc.edu/semitruck

Even though the students are fresh from finishing their education, Kirk said there is still a learning curve. During their first two months with Prairie Farms, the new hire rides with multiple drivers to learn different routes. In the future, Kirk can see Prairie Farms utilizing this relationship to hire other drivers.

NICC offers classes frequently that can land them in a new career in months, and funding options are available to help pay for the course. Take a hold of the wheel and steer towards a stable career with good benefits here.

Learn more.nicc.edu/semitruck