Helping get the level of educational opportunities consistent with the type of equipment that diesel mechanic students will be working on once practicing in the field is something Long Haul has been focused on for years. In fact, this is the third Peterbilt that Long Haul has donated to a local diesel mechanic school in the last four years.
To bridge the local skills gap, Albertville, Minnesota-based Long Haul Trucking recently donated a 2018 Peterbilt tractor to Alexandria Technical & Community College’s (ATCC) Diesel Mechanics Program.
“Our job is to find them, train them and get them employed” said ATCC Diesel Mechanics Instructor, Dustin Schilling (Schilling). “Our school has a strong foundation, and as one of its graduates I take pride with my fellow instructors to work hard in maintaining it.”
Helping get the level of educational opportunities consistent with the type of equipment that diesel mechanic students will be working on in the field is something Long Haul has been focused on for years. In fact, this is the third Peterbilt that Long Haul has donated to a local diesel mechanic school in the last four years; the first going to St. Cloud Technical Community College in 2020 and the second to Hennepin Technical College in 2021. All three programs are local to Long Haul Trucking.
A key to the success and growth of the program comes from the support ATCC receives from the industries that it serves. “We’ve gone from the Stone Age to the Space Age in about 10 years," Schilling said.
"We see the opportunity to donate equipment to schools with programs like ATCC’s as a call to action” said Long Haul Trucking CEO Jason Michels. “We have high expectations for the caliber of mechanic that we hire at our shop, Premier 94, but ultimately, we have some skin in the game to ensure these expectations are aligned with the caliber of training that the students in our local schools are able to achieve.”
A small portion of these contributions stem from the desire of attracting graduating students to Long Haul’s own shop, Premier 94, however, Michels said the big picture is a desire to promote and cultivate a network of well educated diesel mechanics to help lead us into the next generation.
“Our diesel schools are doing all they can to recruit smart, high character students into these programs, and doing an excellent job of it," he said. "Our industry needs to step up and help bridge the gap between the schools’ resources to what is being used in our industry today, if we want to maximize their potential and the time they spend in the classroom.”
