His Dream Achieved, Donald Holds the Keys to His Success

This year, Donald achieved his dream of becoming a CDL driver. In 2012, he was working at a retail store's loading dock when he saw the truck drivers pulling in to deliver stock. "I'm on the wrong end of this loading dock!", he realized. He could see that he wanted a career in transportation, distribution, and logistics (TDL) as a CDL driver but could not afford to pay for training. Instead, he continued working more than ever to support his family and make ends meet. He worked two—sometimes three jobs at a time, all low-paying, and none helped him to get ahead.

Despite the hard work, Donald was struggling to provide for his family and was feeling frustrated with his lack of progress toward his goals. He knew he needed to make a change but wasn't sure where to start.

That's when a friend recommended E&ES. "My friend was already enrolled in the program, and he was doing great!", Donald recalls conversations with his long-time friend about the training opportunities, job placement, and hands-on training available at E&ES. "When he gave me his Career Coach's number, I called the same day and began the enrollment process right away".

There were some hiccups initially. Enrolling in driving school took more effort than Donald expected. For starters, he needed to take extra steps to clear his driving record so that he would be accepted into CDL training. Next, enrolling in WIOA-funded training at E&ES meant doing background research on the industry, job prospects, earning potential, and training providers. He wasn't expecting to research his career field, but he was pleasantly surprised that he did.

Researching transportation, distribution, and logistics gave him insight into the industry and the skills he would need to succeed in it. He also learned about the different training providers available and how to choose the right one for his needs. With his Career Coach's help, he navigated through the enrollment process and started his training. Nichol walked him through every step of the process and kept in contact with him. 

"I was expecting to fill out a bunch of documents and never hear back from anyone while waiting and hoping for jobs to contact me, but the opposite happened." Donald's Career Coach, Nichol, got back to him right away and kept him motivated with her bright attitude and supportive feedback. "Her communication was excellent, and she kept me very motivated".

Overall, Donald is happy with his decision to enroll in the program and grateful for the support he received from E&ES and his Career Coach. "I have one more test to take, and soon my dream will be realized". Today, Donald is nearly done with his CDL training and says he has more job security, more money, and greater options than he had before. "More doors have opened for me, and I'm ready to step through". 

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