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PROGRAM
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BAYVIEW HOPE TRUCK DRIVING ACADEMY |
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Program Goal
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- Complete the program
- Obtain a Commercial Driver's License (e.g. Class A)
- Obtain employment as a Commercial Driver |
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Eligibility Requirements
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- Be at least 22 years old
- Have a valid California Driver's License and Social Security card
- Ability to understand conversational English
- Resident of San Francisco County |
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Length of program
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Six to Eight Weeks |
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Days of Program
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Monday through Friday |
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Contact Person
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Una Tutson
Staffing Specialist
(415) 575-2158 |
Goodwill Industries' Bayview Hope Truck Driving Academy ("BHTA") a collaboration between Goodwill, City College of San Francisco Evans Campus, and the True Hope Church of God in Christ, is funded in part by donations from Walter and Evelyn Haas, Jr. Fund, the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Wells Fargo Bank, the San Francisco Department of the Environment, and the San Francisco Foundation. This collaboration currently allows us to offer this program to qualified Participants at no charge.
Program Description: The BHTA enrolls Participants from San Francisco County year-round and offers open-entry enrollment depending on seat availability. Classes are offered in the mornings, afternoons and early evenings (during the spring and summer months). The course combines classroom lectures, driving instruction with a tractor trailer (18-wheeler) and hands-on training using a state of the art simulator.
Depending on the Participant’s learning abilities and schedule they may complete the class requirements and attain a Commercial Driver’s License in as few as 40 or as many as 100 hours. Use of the simulator increases the Participant’s comfort level in maneuvering a tractor-trailer; exposes them to a variety of weather (e.g. snow, rain, night, etc.) as well as traffic and hazardous conditions without endangering them or the general public. What is most appealing about the simulator is that it is environmentally friendly because there are no emissions. Cross training on the simulator and behind the wheel prepares Participants to take the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) commercial driver's test using Goodwill’s tractor trailers.
We have and will continue to recruit from underserved communities such as the Bayview, Sunnydale, Western Addition, Portrero Hill and OMI but we will also focus on individuals who speak English as a second language from now until June 2008.
With a commercial driver’s license BHTA graduates are able to start down a meaningful career path, with an average starting pay (at a living wage) of about $16.25 per hour. For example:
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Eric Yau: “The BHTA has helped me to change careers and better job opportunities. My Instructor, Frank Duncan, was very patient and Tania Alexander was very supportive.”
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David Fiame: Completing the BHTA is a huge career choice in my life. I would encourage people to take advantage of the training because it does work!! The Bayview Hope Truck Driving Academy also provides customized training to employers whether it is to address preventive and/or safety driving or to provide them with a pool of qualified commercial drivers from our Participants. UCSF was the first employer to enroll its staff in this advanced driver training by taking advantage of the simulator’s cut-away (shuttle bus) training package and they have hired our Participants.
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