Con-way Truckload announced that it has become a participant in the U.S. Department of Labor National Apprenticeship Program, which permits eligible veterans and active members of the Guard and Reserves to receive paid on-the-job training using GI Bill benefits.
The program enables military veterans who choose to start truck driving careers with Con-way Truckload to use their GI Bill benefits to supplement their income in the first year of employment, which is considered an apprentice period during which new drivers fulfill a series of skills qualification, training and safe driving performance milestones as a condition of continued employment. Qualifying veterans or reservists can receive up to an additional $1,000 a month in tax-free GI Bill benefits under this apprenticeship program during their first year with Con-way Truckload.
All candidates must have a valid commercial driver’s license and a minimum level of truck driving experience to be considered for entry-level employment with Con-way Truckload. As drivers progress through training and safe driving milestones during their first year, they qualify for pay increases. Upon successful completion of the full-year apprentice program, drivers graduate to the top pay rate.
“Programs like Con-way Truckload’s VA Apprenticeship Program go a long way toward improving the state’s economy – we need more of these programs and more companies to participate,” says Chad Schatz, director of the Veterans Education and Training Section/Missouri State Approving Agency, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. “GI Bill programs also help veterans and their dependents live a better lifestyle, and obviously, they’ve earned it.”
In addition to National Apprenticeship Program participation, Con-way Truckload also offers an accelerated pay increase schedule to veterans with documented military truck driving experience. After the first month, following a successful performance evaluation, the company upgrades their pay level to that of drivers with one year of experience.
“At Con-way Truckload, we greatly value current and former military employees for their consistently extraordinary work ethic, discipline and dedication,” says Herb Schmidt, president of Joplin, Mo.-based Con-way Truckload, a Con-way Inc. subsidiary. “This program provides a prime opportunity for those candidates to get the financial support to help them embark on a great new career with us, while we benefit from access to this pool of highly desirable new drivers. It is a tremendously valuable program for both military members and U.S. employers.”
