A. Duie Pyle Opens Second Driver Training Academy

WEST CHESTER, PA--(Marketwired - Oct 20, 2014) -  A. Duie Pyle (Pyle), the premier leader in asset and non-asset based transportation and supply chain solutions in the Northeast, announces it has opened its second Northeast truck driver training academy. Pyle's successful training site at its company headquarters in West Chester, Pennsylvania has proven to be an important asset for the company, using hands-on experience to train men and women to be safe and reliable drivers. The newest location in Northborough, Massachusetts, offers interested New England and upstate New York candidates an option to train closer to home.

"No longer will the driver candidates from New England and upstate New York need to travel to Southeast Pennsylvania or be away from their families for extended periods in order to pursue a driving career with Pyle," said Randy Swart, COO of A. Duie Pyle. "Given the ever increasing driver shortage, we elected in 2003 to form our own driver training academy and recruit candidates from our warehouse and dock associates. Since then, Pyle also offers this school as a resource for any prospective candidate outside of the company who has a bona fide interest and aptitude in becoming a professional driver for A. Duie Pyle."

The academy curriculum provides ground-up training at no cost to the candidates. The company invests $20,000 in each trainee, which includes an hourly wage for the driver while he or she is completing the program. It's an investment which Pyle believes is a long-term solution to the driver shortage, and the company is already seeing results. Pyle's turnover rate for drivers with more than a year of service is just five percent in an industry where 100% annual turnover is not uncommon. More than 235 candidates/drivers have participated in this program and successfully qualified as Class A CDL drivers.

The training academy offers an 8-week instructional program followed by two weeks of on the job experience on a P&D unit accompanied by a driver mentor. This 10-week agenda offers A. Duie Pyle driver candidates hundreds of challenging hours behind the wheel of Pyle's trucks. Classroom lessons and written exams, all with an emphasis on safety and highway courtesy, are also part of the rigorous course work. If the candidates pass the program, they obtain their Commercial Driver's License and a job with Pyle. The first graduating class in Northborough included 10 students coached by seven instructors which provide a student-to-instructor ratio that ensures learning.

"We are looking for passionate drivers and driver candidates who wish to be the future of the industry," said Swart. "Our program is complete and robust as it delivers thoroughly trained, top-notch graduates who are reliable stewards of highway safety as well as dependable and knowledgeable company representatives."