RR Branstrom | Daily Press Under the watchful eye of an instructor, a student practices machinery toward the end of a class at the North Country Heavy Equipment School, which operates alongside the Midwest Truck Driving School in Escanaba.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Daily Press will feature a series of articles about local businesses highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will be shown on a regular basis in the Daily Press.
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Escanaba — In 1995, after identifying a need for commercial driver's license (CDL) training in the area, Jim Berthiaume founded the North Country Truck Driving School in Escanaba.
Before the school opened, according to current Principal Joshua Barron, there was no formal, standardized CDL training, which was implemented nationally in 1992. Berthiaume worked with Michigan State to bring the curriculum to Upper Peninsula.
In 1998, the name was changed to Midwest Truck Driving School to reflect a broader geographic scope. Even today, their programs attract students from across the Midwest and beyond. Last month, a student traveled from Texas to earn his CDL.
In the early days, classes were conducted by one instructor – Jim – with a truck and trailer. The school gradually grew under his leadership and in 2008 changed hands – to those of Jim's brother Tom Berthiaume. The business continued to expand.
In 2015, a group of local investors took over the Midwest Truck Driving School. Barron, one of five members now on the board, said the goal of this group was to really build the school. Under their guidance, Midwest Truck Driving School added school bus training and CDL Class B training, and the board also acquired another related business. The North Country Heavy Equipment School, which started in the late 90s, has been operating alongside the Midwest Truck Driving School at 1519 N. 26th Street in Escanaba since 2020.
North Country Heavy Equipment School's HEO (Heavy Equipment Operator) course is accredited by the National Center for Construction Education and Research, which is considered an industry standard. The certification is useful for operators of various heavy machinery. According to the course description, “Machines include excavators, articulated motor grader, articulated front loaders, compact track loader, 6-way corner dozer, extension excavator, compact excavator and single and dual axle dump trucks.”
The curriculum can be customized based on a client's needs, limitations, or desires. Barron said customer service and flexibility are among the characteristics that set Escanaba Schools apart from other providers. When the Wisconsin DNR wanted their wildland firefighters trained specifically for the bulldozers they would have to use to establish firelines, North Country obliged. In addition to being GI Bill approved and National Guard certified, the school also partners with Michigan Works! and Michigan Rehabilitation Services and provide a helpful stepping stone for the unemployed and underemployed. They have made adjustments so that someone who has trouble reading and writing can get their CDL.
While registrants are often people who are still shaping their future, many organizations arrange to send their employees through certain programs to improve their skills or obtain a specific certificate.
The main courses at Midwest Truck Driving School and North Country Heavy Equipment School are either monthly (160 hours) or weekly (40 hours), depending on the schedule. The sessions from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday they create intense and compact courses that include both classroom instruction and hands-on training.
The Class A CDL course through Midwest Truck Driving School and the HEO course through North Country Heavy Equipment School are the most popular, Barron said. Both are month-long programs. Other providers, such as universities that teach similar courses, extend the curriculum to one semester.
“It's short-term vocational training, (which) enables people to get back into the workforce in a relatively short period of time.” said Barron, who said their students are of all ages, from many walks of life, and often have jobs lined up before or immediately after graduation, when a certificate of completion makes them highly employable.
Truck driving and logging are two industries where the average age is around 50. As many with careers in the automotive and forestry industries retire, there is a problem when their shoes don't fill.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average annual growth rate across all occupations is 4%. According to the American Trucking Association, the number of truck drivers grew by only 1.5% between 2021 and 2022.
Not only are the curricula for all grades intended to prepare students for success, but Midwest and North Country go a step further.
“We always have recruiters coming in,” Baron said. “This past month, Holtger Brothers Incorporated, Schneider and AM Express came in to recruit students right after class, which is good. Now, a lot of times, students don't go with these companies, but at least it gives them an idea – what's the pay, what are the benefits, what questions should I ask… And it gets them used to these conversations that I'm going to have with different companies.”
Schools also offer online theory courses for more specific skills. For example, HazMat Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) endorsement training, designed for drivers who have a CDL and are seeking to add “THE” approval, covers content found on test at DMV. The curriculum meets DOT standards and is recognized in all 50 states.
A new program added to the school just last year is a 40-hour logging course in which students learn how to operate a loader and basic forestry-related topics.
“We worked with three different recorders here in Delta County to create this course.” Baron said. “It was a big thing they wanted for the logging industry.”
Continuously providing attentive training in small classes while having fun is what Midwest Truck Driving School and North Country Heavy Equipment School strive for. While some classes fill up completely – February's CDL class was full and some people who called to inquire about enrollment had to be moved to March – that's not always the case.
“Sometimes you don't have the demand,” Baron said. “Sometimes – like last month, heavy equipment – they've only had one student, and that's fine. In the middle of the summer they will have 16 students. … Life is busy, and this student, this was the only time he could do it. Obviously the school doesn't do anything when there's only one student, but it's a commitment to our customers and that's what's important.”
