Of the 200 people trained as freight transport operators at the Líneas Primero de Mayo school in Piedras Negras, 20 are women and work for the American side, Blanca Villanueva noted.
She emphasized that these training sessions are held publicly so that all companies have the opportunity to train their operators, but those who do not work for a company can also enroll.
The training takes eight weeks in classrooms and with simulators, and they complete their education on physical tractor-trailers delivering loads. Although they have the basics, companies committed to transportation education are also needed to open their doors and further promote driving practice.
The training takes eight weeks because that is the time required by the Ministry of Communications and Transportation to obtain a license and medical clearance.
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A woman with a life and career plan in the transportation sector can start driving a small 3.5-ton last-mile pickup truck and graduate to a 10-ton truck, then move on to yards dedicated to short-haul trucks and box trucks in the same city or plant.
From there, she can continue in Coahuila, driving 53-foot units with regular dimensions on the Piedras Negras-Saltillo and Sabinas-Torreón routes, then move on to Piedras Negras-Eagle Pass or Del Río and Ciudad Acuña, and finally pursue what most people seek: a B1 for Mexico-United States and Mexico-Canada.
For those already working on the American side, she said their income multiplied in a three-year period; they had incomes of 3,500 pesos and went up to $1,500 providing services on the American side.
On the other hand, she commented that they have worked hand in hand with Daimler for more than three years, successfully implementing with all their suppliers and business partners the possibility of including women among their operators in their percentage of shipments. This has opened the opportunity for women to position themselves in freight transport, on short routes, managing safe transportation in Coahuila.
Source: vanguardia
