Celadon Trucking To Make Changes In Driver Training

by Jake Tully - Published: 9/20/2017

In recruiting talent to the trucking industry, Celadon Trucking Services has announced that it will exit its three existing Celadon Driving Academy locations in order for a third-party partner to establish an educational presence.

The Indianapolis-based trucking company announced earlier today that its three current Celadon Driving Academy (CDA) locations in Indianapolis, Indiana, Laredo, Texas and Richmond, Virginia will see an accredited third-party driving school partner initiate training in order to hire new drivers for the company.

According to Celadon President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Russell, utilizing third party training partners and establishing advanced training programs will be more beneficial to the company than continuing present operations in regards to driver training. 

"Highly qualified professional truck drivers are the lifeblood of our organization,” said Russell. “We recruit and train thousands of drivers each year and constantly evaluate the optimal mix of experienced drivers, student drivers, and driver trainers. After a thorough review, we determined that using third-party programs and making additional investments in driver compensation and advanced training would afford a better investment of resources than continuing to operate the schools ourselves. We are trucking specialists, and we will focus on our core business."

According to Russell, Celadon will continue to focus on assisting CDA employees in finding employment after finishing the program, stating that both the third-party partners and Celadon itself may offer occupational resources.

"We are committed to helping every CDA employee in their career transition,” said Russell. “One of Celadon's third-party driving school partners has expressed interest in hiring many of our associates for their soon-to-be established school here in Indianapolis as well as Richmond and Laredo. In addition, we have open jobs within Celadon for which they can apply.”

Russell also reported that Celadon will maintain a commitment to other operations at the company in the wake of the transition at its CDA locations.

Additionally, Russell reported company interest in concentrating on the greater establishment of Celadon’s presence in the trucking industry.

"Celadon is strongly committed to the Celadon Trucking business units - dry van, refrigerated, intermodal, and dedicated - as well as our Celadon Logistics, A&S, and other operations," said Russell. "I'm excited at the progress we continue to make in restoring Celadon's status as a premium truckload and logistics provider."