The Professional Truck Driver Institute announced that HR Career Development in Montpelier, Ohio, recently received certification for its truck driver training courses. Schools applying for PTDI program certification must undergo an onsite visit from a three-member evaluation team that examines the school’s existing standards, procedures and practices. A certification committee then reviews the results of the onsite visit and other supporting documents before certifying the courses.
“At the onset, we had a desire to be PTDI-certified because of the safety benefits, the quality of the training PTDI promotes, and the curriculum offered,” says Ron Dean, chief executive officer or HR Career Development. Although the PTDI certification process is costly, Dean says, “The benefits outweigh the costs — better job placement, better instructional methods, additional students.” The school, located in the northwestern corner of Ohio, mainly serves Ohio, Michigan and Indiana students, and will graduate an estimated 100 to 110 students this year.
The PTDI standards program is intended to serve a variety of interests and objectives, including increased safety for the motoring public, reduced risk exposure for insurance companies and motor carriers, minimal remedial driver training time, improved sense of driver professionalism, and enhanced student driver opportunities. “Our school provides a top-notch education, and this will enhance what we’re doing,” Dean says. “We wanted the professionalism that being PTDI-certified entails. We also know that insurance companies take this certification seriously. And we agree it’s important to have uniform standards of training.”
Dean said carriers recognize this as well, and it now will be easier for him to place graduates with trucking companies that want PTDI-trained students. “The importance of having the type of standards that PTDI offers is that it will help students get the training they need,” he says. “He or she will be better prepared to go out and define the job. That’s what makes employers seek these graduates, because they see the benefits down the road.”
