Albany Tech promotes training for high-demand jobs in trucking

ALBANY — Southwest Georgia will now see a tractor and trailer traveling the region, parked in designated locations and spreading the word about the Transportation Academy at Albany Technical College.

The big rig will join an Albany Tech billboard that also is promoting transportation-related courses of study the college anticipates being in high demand now and in the future.

SouthernAG Carriers and Procter & Gamble contributed to providing the tractor and trailer that will encourage individuals to pursue Albany Tech programs in commercial truck driving diesel equipment technology, auto collision repair and automotive technology.

“We would like to thank SouthernAG Carriers Inc. and Procter & Gamble for their support,” Albany Tech President Anthony Parker said in a news release. “With these jobs, a person can support themselves and their families and build a great future. The benefit to the community is that Transportation Academy graduates provide local industries with a qualified and trained talent pool. This ensures a robust system in our community to move the goods made here to market in a cost-effective, competitive manner.”

Albany Technical College, along with local industries and transportation carriers, rolled out the Albany Transportation Academy at Albany Technical College in May 2018. The innovative work force development program housed at Albany Technical College was designed to create a pool of trained, qualified employees to support the transportation industry and those that rely on efficient and cost-effective systems to move goods and services in our region.

During the rollout, former Procter & Gamble plant manager Werhner Washington announced that P&G would support the new Transportation Academy with a $10,000 donation. The support has continued through Farid Khan, the current plant manager.

In 2020, the company donated an additional $5,000 to the Albany Tech Foundation to further support the Transportation Academy. These funds created an opportunity to purchase the trailer, now being used to promote the program to the community.

SouthernAG Carriers entered into a three-year lease agreement with Albany Tech in November 2018. Under the agreement, Albany Technical College received a “bobtail” tractor unit used by the Transportation Academy.

“Commercial truck drivers and diesel technicians are in high demand,” Parker said. “The Transportation Academy will provide support to southwest Georgia in addressing and solving work force needs. We have focused our efforts on career training in these strategic areas, creating a path forward for those who reside in our community who are looking for a job that pays well and offers health benefits.”

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