Sarasota-based truck driver training program celebrates 10K graduates

A truck driver training program headquartered in Sarasota with a presence in Florida, Texas and North Carolina celebrated a milestone on Friday: FleetForce Truck Driver Training graduated its 10,000th CDL driver. 

The program began in 2020, launched by entrepreneur Tra Williams, who purchased a sleepy truck driving school in Winter Haven that had seven to 10 students a month, the Business Observer previously reported. Seeing what he called "pent-up demand for drivers," Williams decided to expand the business.

Since then, the four-week training program has grown to span college campuses in three states where thousands of students are trained each year to earn their CDL, or commercial driver’s license.

On Friday, Williams joined state and local government officials and business leaders at State College of Florida in Bradenton to celebrate the latest class of FleetForce graduates, including its 10,000th graduate. 

"Ten thousand graduates means 10,000 new careers and answers to a deficit that touches every American who buys anything delivered by truck," Williams, president and CEO of FleetForce, says in a statement.

During the event, Swift Transportation — one of the largest full truckload carriers in the country — hired the 10,001st FleetForce graduate, Drexl Eitniear, on the spot, according to a statement.

“This career path is the best thing to happen to me and my family,” Eitniear, a Sarasota resident, says in the statement, which says he had spent years in unreliable gig work. “My grandfather had a successful truck driving career, so with faith, I believe I can do the same thing.”

FleetForce was designed to help address the national truck driver shortage. The industry faces a projected shortage of more than 1.1 million commercial drivers over the next decade, the American Trucking Associations reported in 2021.

To meet the demand, FleetForce has launched a digital recruitment campaign called Next10,000 that calls for 10,000 new, aspiring truck drivers across America. Through its partnership with Swift Transportation, FleetForce will guarantee job interviews for every qualified student at any of its locations across the U.S.

"We're not slowing down," Williams says in the statement. "Next10,000 is our commitment to find and train the next generation of professional drivers until we've resolved the national driver shortage."

Around the region, FleetForce provides CDL training for State College of Florida at its Bradenton and Venice campuses; Pasco-Hernando College at its New Port Richey campus; Ridge Technical College at its Winter Haven campus; and Fort Myers Technical College in Fort Myers.