Theresa, WI – The Truck Driving Academy on I41 and Highway 28 hosted an open house for high school students from West Bend, WI, in an attempt to open the door to a variety of job opportunities in the area.
“We wanted to showcase our different companies that have a variety of employment opportunities in Washington County,” said Emily Sheely, recruiting manager with WB Holdings.
Students explored three sections including a classroom setting which provided details on a variety of job opportunities from finance to farming to warehouse and agriculture. One of the more popular sections was a truck driving simulator and a hands-on segment where students were able to climb behind the wheel of several big rigs.
“With our truck driving school what makes us unique is we have a variety of options of positions that just require a high school education,” Sheely said. “You can enter your career right out of high school and grow with the company. We also have positions that require a formal four-year degree from a university and then we have everything in between.”
Facility owner Tim Kreilkamp said the Truck Driving Academy was very valuable to growing his own team. “Essentially everyone knows there’s a shortage of truck drivers and so we decided we’re going to make our own,” he said.
Kreilkamp gave a carnival barkers shoutout to a group of students, inviting someone to sit behind the wheel of the simulator. As one boy got settled, put on the seatbelt and started the truck, he found it wasn’t as easy as it looked as he rolled over a pedestrian that walked out from behind a bus.
“This is pretty real life,” said Jake Kreilkamp. “It is motion based, you have three screens, all of the sensors and buzzers are real-life situations and helps you learn how to drive a truck.”
The trucking school is an eight-week program and the starting wage for an over-the-road truck driver is $60,000.
“I hope they can take away that this could be a great career choice,” said instructor Stan Weiss. “Not many students know they can start at 18 years old.”
“We are excited about the career opportunities we have now and in the future,” said Sheely. “We would like to extend an invitation to any school districts that would be interested in touring our facilities and learning about our career opportunities. We have lots of positions to offer in warehousing, trucking and agriculture.”
