GTCC Truck Driver Training Transforms Lives, Fills Guilford County Labor Gap

Guilford Technical Community College says its Truck Driver Training program is helping fill urgent labor-market gaps in Guilford County, and the college’s March 2, 2026 news profile spotlights recent participant Anna Long as an example. Prospective students and employers can reach GTCC at 336.334.4822, email info@gtcc.edu, or visit the Truck Driver Training page on GTCC’s website; the college’s address is 601 E. Main Street, P.O. Box 309, Jamestown, NC 27282.

The program’s human face in GTCC features includes Roy Powell, a 53-year-old U.S. Navy veteran who worked almost 20 years as a printer in the GTCC print shop before enrolling in the weekend Truck Driver Training program. Powell enrolled in January and graduated in May, according to GTCC feature reporting; the profile notes this was the first time he had been in a classroom in more than 30 years and that he is the first former GTCC employee to graduate from the program. Powell said, "Let me tell you, GTCC has helped me tremendously. Being a prior employee, I knew there was so much opportunity at the college, you just have to take advantage of it." He added, "The trucking program changed my life. The instructors were so knowledgeable. They have been in the trucking game a long time; there's a lot of experience there."

GTCC launched the Truck Driver Training curriculum in 2020 to respond to a regional shortage of tractor-trailer drivers. The first cohort began classes in October 2020 and the program celebrated its initial graduating class on Wednesday, December 16, 2020 in a ceremony at GTCC; 11 Guilford Technical Community College students were the first graduates. At that ceremony, GTCC President Dr. Anthony Clarke said, "This is a vital industry. We recognize this in 2020 more than ever. We are so proud to be able to meet this need for our community and beyond with our ready-to-work graduates, the very first set of graduates to complete this program at GTCC."

The first cohort completed a 320-hour course that the college described as 22 percent classroom instruction and 78 percent driving-range and on-road training, with graduates earning a certificate and a Class A Commercial Driver’s License. The curriculum enumerated for students includes vehicle inspection, defensive driving, range maneuvers, motor carrier’s safety regulations, trip planning, cargo handling, size and weight laws, general maintenance procedures, hours of service, and vehicle accident prevention. GTCC’s weekend option, the format Powell attended, is described as an intensive, compressed schedule with classes every Saturday and Sunday.

Industry partners helped build the program. Rick Cates, vice-president of workforce strategies and fleet safety at Marsh USA in Greensboro, spoke at the December 16, 2020 ceremony and tied training to local economic development, saying, "Right down the road one of the largest distribution centers in the nation is being built by Publix. They chose to build here because of programs like this in our community. Because of drivers just like you."

GTCC’s March 2, 2026 profile uses participant stories such as Anna Long’s and Roy Powell’s to illustrate the program’s ongoing role supplying trained drivers to Guilford County employers. For enrollment, class schedules, and program specifics, contact GTCC at 336.334.4822 or info@gtcc.edu, or consult the Truck Driver Training page on the college’s website.