Skilled 4 Work: Getting a career on the open road

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — With oil prices in flux and the turmoil of the pandemic, Carlos Garcia went looking for a better job.

"I worked in the oil fields for a year and a half, almost two, and then I went to framing once we got laid off," Garcia said.

Garcia soon found himself in the driver’s seat after enrolling in a 4-week commercial driving license course at CNM.

"The class itself, I was a little… I was a little scared about it at first, but after working with the truck itself, I got more comfortable with it," Garcia said.

"It’s just a very rewarding industry," said Steve Towne, who teaches the CDL course. "There is such a demand for over the road, for local drivers. So anybody that wants to come here, we’re here to train you."

Garcia even had his training paid for because he agreed to sign on to work for Duke City Readi-Mix, a local concrete company.

To learn more about the program, click here.