Schools such as SAGE are essential to satisfying the economy’s appetite for drivers. Each year, transport companies replace nine out of every 10 long-haul truckers, after they sour on an exhausting job that keeps them away from home for weeks at a time. The industry’s constant churn is contributing to nationwide supply chain disruptions, as freight sits while dispatchers struggle to fill vacant positions.

Trucker turnover also is drawing attention from the White House. Administration officials on Thursday announced steps aimed at bolstering the ranks of the nation’s roughly 444,000 long-distance truck drivers, down about 25,000 since early 2019, including an expansion of paid apprenticeships and efforts to tap military veterans.

The industry’s urgent need for reinforcements helps explain why the Hanlons today are holding forth on a sloping asphalt lot behind a local community college. Their pupils include the Freightliner driver, an 18-year-old who still has braces on his teeth; a husband-and-wife team hoping to pay off $60,000 in student loans; and an aspiring entrepreneur who sees trucking as a way to make his fortune.

Turning such untrained talent into drivers who can safely command a 40-ton load at highway speeds takes four to six weeks of classroom instruction, observation, and practice behind the wheel.