Cultivating confidence

Recruiting new drivers

The trucking workforce is aging. CDL drivers aren’t entering the industry at the rate needed to replace those retiring, and in the waste industry, CDL drivers are crucial to daily operations. High demand and a lack of new talent have resulted in a driver shortage the industry is attempting to resolve.

Casella’s CDL Training School was born from such challenges.

“Like a lot of companies out there, we were looking at ways to recruit more individuals [because] … applications were going down for those positions,” Casella Director of Communications Jeff Weld says. “We were looking at ways to break down some barriers of entry.”

One barrier the company identified was cost. CDL programs can cost thousands of dollars, preventing some from investing. To combat this, Casella’s CDL Training School offers tuition reimbursement. If drivers complete the program and pledge to work at least one year with the company, their $5,000 fee will be waived.

West signed a two-year contract upon completing the program in 2022 and was “ecstatic” to have her CDL. Hindered by her lack of exposure and confidence, West had never imagined she would get her CDL and drive a collection vehicle—a stark contrast to the supervisor and driver she is today.

The CDL training opportunity is open to existing Casella employees and new hires brought on as driver apprentices. Weld says many established employees enter the CDL Training School as laborers working on the back of rear-load vehicles, while others come in as sorters or scale operators from transfer stations and recycling facilities.

Casella Senior Vice President and General Counsel Shelley Saywardobtained her CDL to better understand drivers’ daily responsibilities and the safety challenges they face.

Other students are completely new to the company, hired as apprentices with the intention of obtaining CDLs and becoming drivers.

While students of any experience level can attend the school, Weld says Casella identifies criteria in its employees and new hires that could indicate their success as CDL drivers. Employees who show initiative and prioritize safety could be recommended for the program, just as West was when she started at Casella as a laborer.

At the school, students learn the information necessary to pass the CDL driver’s test, including pretrip inspection, safety training, basic vehicle control and on-road driving.

Before starting the program, West’s biggest questions pertained to the parts of the truck inspected during the pretrip, such as the purpose of a fuel pump and how to operate an air brake. Now, she says she’s learned so much about waste trucks that she can identify the cause of an oil leak simply by where it’s coming from on the truck.

“I can’t do that with a car, but I can do that with a truck,” West continues. “Learning the mechanics of the trucks intrigues me.”

For many, becoming a CDL driver is a point in the middle of their professional timeline, not the end.

“A lot of our frontline managers, division managers [and] maintenance managers got their start as a driver,” Weld says. “That’s one of our goals for this program: to identify people through it and get them on a career path, not just in the driver’s seat.”

Another goal for the program is to instill confidence in Casella employees. West says one of the reasons she never thought she’d be a CDL driver is because she lacked confidence in her ability to learn the material and adapt to driving a large truck. Casella’s CDL Training School helped her build that confidence.

“By and large, these programs are designed to … get people to a place where they are confident, and they are safe, and they are ready,” Weld says.

“That’s one of our goals for this program: to identify people through it and get them on a career path, not just in the driver’s seat.” – Jeff Weld, director of communications, Casella Waste Systems

Exposure and confidence

As the driver shortage continues, more waste and recycling companies are turning to in-house training programs to recruit drivers. Longwood, Florida-based Waste Pro founded its Co-Heart CDL program in 2015, surpassing 400 graduates in 2022, while participating in Cincinnati-based Rumpke Waste & Recycling’s CDL school is a full-time, paid position.

Casella’s CDL Training School has seen 200 students obtain their licenses, and West was lucky No. 100.

Today, she is an operations supervisor, responsible for supervising collection activities and overseeing drivers and helpers to ensure safety.

Although she has not yet had her CDL for two years and, therefore, cannot train non-CDL drivers, West has taken on a mentorship role within the company and says she can see herself becoming a trainer when she’s eligible.

“We have a couple drivers who just got their CDLs, not through the school but on their own,” she says. “They don’t have the experience, so I’ve gone into the trucks with them and explained things to them and showed them what the trash truck can do.”

Trucking traditionally has been a male-dominated industry, and Weld says Casella’s program strives to open doors for people who aren’t typically seen in the driver’s seat. By increasing exposure and accessibility, companies could be able to recruit individuals who would not have previously considered trucking a viable career option.

“The industry and technology have advanced to a place where people of all different abilities, body types, sizes, ages and genders have the ability to do these jobs,” Weld says. “No matter your physical limitations or your abilities, you can succeed in these roles.”

When asked what she enjoys most about driving, West says she “just likes being out on the road.” Her colleagues, other drivers and the helpers who assist her on her route also are inherent positives, but driving gives her a level of autonomy she appreciates.

“It’s freedom,” she says. “You go at your own pace and get the job done.”

This story first appeared in the January-February 2024 issue of sister publication Waste Today. The author is digital editor for the Recycling Today Media Group and can be reached at tkazdin@gie.net.