Rep. Gary Hicks announces $600K for trucking school at Phipps Bend Industrial Park
Rep. Gary Hicks
Rep. Gary Hicks announced during Thursday’s Hawkins County Industrial Development Board that $600,000 had been approved by the Tennessee General Assembly to start a truck driving school at Phipps Bend.
The new school will be operated by the Phipps Bend campus of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology, and $225,000 of the $600,000 will be recurring to keep the school running.
The announcement was met with applause and much appreciation Thursday by the IDB and TCAT officials who have been working for the past two years to bring a truck driving school to Phipps Bend.
On two occasions it appeared that a program had been secured, but COVID derailed plans the first time in 2020. Then last year a trucking company that was expected to operate the school backed out.
Initially the state was only going to fund truck driving schools in this year’s budget that were already in existence.
Hicks told the IDB Thursday that he met with Gov. Bill Lee and explained how the school wasn’t able to open as planned in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Hicks said he explained to Gov. Lee that the demand for CDL truck drivers is high and the Phipps Bend school is expected to attract a large number of prospective candidates.
Two days later Hicks received a call from the governor’s staff that they were receiving funding for Hawkins County.
“The General Assembly took a number of steps this session to alleviate the growing supply chain crisis that has resulted in backed up ports and empty grocery store shelves across the nation,” Hicks said. “This investment allows Tennessee to prepare skilled drivers to enter the trucking industry so that we can ensure the continued transport of goods.”
”Much interest within the community”
Susanne Cox, president of the TCAT-Morristown school noted that there has been much interest within the community as the transportation industry has faced recent workforce shortages with numerous job openings throughout the region.
“The establishment of the program will assist in providing a steady pipeline of skilled CDL drivers to help meet the needs of the transportation industry and provide a rewarding lucrative career for the graduates,” Cox said. “Trucking plays a critical role in the supply chain and overall economy; and TCAT is grateful to the Tennessee General Assembly, particularly Representative Gary Hicks, for appropriating the necessary funds to start the program.”
Cox added, “According to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, employment opportunities for Tractor-Trailer drivers in Tennessee are expanding each year and will continue to do so in the future.”
”Filling the need of licensed truck drivers”
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce in May listed more than 1,500 positions open for qualified truck drivers listed on jobs4tn.gov.
Current average salaries for qualified drivers ranges from $55K-$130K annually. The school at Phipps Bend Industrial Park is on target to open in late 2022.
IDB chairman Larry Elkins gave Hicks the lion’s share of credit for getting this funding approved.
“Licensed truck drivers are one of the most needed areas of training in the country today,” Elkins said. “I am so excited to welcome this opportunity to the TCAT in Phipps Bend Industrial Park. I feel confident that we will be able to start filling the need of licensed truck drivers with this new program.”
Elkins added, “The Hawkins County Industrial Development Board wholeheartedly stands by the school and this new program that is being added. We would like to thank Representative Gary Hicks for making it possible to start the program at the TCAT in Phipps Bend Industrial Park.”
Hicks said he doesn’t anticipate Phipps Bend’s truck driving school being ready to open before January of 2023.
