Female inmates graduate from truck driver training class

Female inmates graduate from truck driver training class

Four Oklahoma women are blazing new trails in big rigs.

The women are graduates of the first truck driver training class for incarcerated women. The program is a partnership between the agency and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

“This program and others like it align with our mission to help offenders transition successfully from the correctional system to the workplace,” Oklahoma CareerTech State Director Marcie Mack said in a news release. “We’re very proud of each of the ladies, who have learned the skills they need for prosperous employment that will make a positive impact on their lives and the state’s economy.”

All four women came from the Oklahoma City Community Corrections Center. Two of them have been released from DOC custody and hired by an Oklahoma City-based over-the-road trucking company.

During an eight-week finishing program, the two women will drive all over the country with a trainer, gaining experience as drivers. Once they complete their training period, the women will be given their own trucks and hired as full-time drivers.

The other two women are scheduled for release later this summer and plan to interview with the same industry partner, according to the news release.

The women started their training class in March and ended it earlier this month. They completed an intensive four-week program, which included classroom time at Central Technology Center’s satellite site in El Reno and driving time.

The training program began as a pilot project in the summer of 2019 with men who were on probation, according to the news release. It switched to training inmates in 2020.