An innovative local program that leads to a career in truck driving is getting attention during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, being celebrated now through Saturday.
Sheboygan County cheese maker Sargento was feeling the pinch from a national shortage of truck drivers and came up with a plan to address it locally. Their CDL Truck Driving Apprenticeship Program gives local employees the opportunity to upskill and transition into long-haul and local truck driving careers.
Employees who enter undergo 200 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction and over 2,000 hours of 1-on-1 mentorship with veteran Sargento truckers before earning their CDLs and taking to the open road. Since the program kicked off in 2023, participants have logged hundreds of thousands of miles delivering Sargento products nationwide.
The shortage of drivers that prompted the program was partly due to the cost of getting the required Commercial Drivers License. Sargento’s solution is a paid, 12-month program covering all education costs for existing employees and aspiring drivers who otherwise couldn’t get their break into the industry.
Partnering with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and Fox Valley Technical College, the program combines 200 hours of classroom instruction with over 2,000 hours of hands-on driving. Apprentices are also paired with veteran Sargento drivers who mentor them through both local delivery routes and long-haul over-the-road routes.
Its first graduate was Amanda Lytle, a Sargento employee who logged over 150,000 miles in her first 18 months. Two additional apprentices graduated with their CDLs in 2025.
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