NFI Industries, one of North America’s leading third-party logistics providers, was founded by the Brown family in 1932. Since then, the family-owned and -operated company has been overseen by four generations of the family.
The company has become known for its efforts to provide its employees with programs designed to ensure a healthy work/life balance, financial planning, professional and personal success, and overall well-being.
In addition, the company is working with state and local agencies to provide opportunities for education and careers in the trucking industry. One NFI site that has been particularly successful is in Will County, Illinois.
The area’s On-The-Job Training (OJT) is a program that provides reimbursements to Will County employers that are looking to improve productivity, increase market competitiveness and expand job opportunities for Will County residents and communities.
“The OJT program allows us to connect with individuals that the state — or, in the case, Will County — refers us to who have recently gone through a CDL training program,” said Jen C., NFI’s driver recruiting program manager. “This gives them an opportunity to come in as a new driver without any experience and participate in our nine-week training course.”
Jen says the decision for NFI to partner with Will County was born out of NFI’s need for drivers in certain areas of the country.
“In these particular markets, (partnerships) allow us to find these candidates, and if they come through the OJT program, we are able to capture 50% of those training wages for those nine weeks. So, from a financial aspect it’s very positive,” she said.
As an added bonus, she says, candidates are vetted by the state and local agencies before being referred for the OJT program.
“They really only bring us candidates that qualify and would be a good fit for us long-term,” she said. “That’s always the goal — to find those student trainees that will be successful. What we’ve found is that the retention rates have been a little higher than other student candidates.”
The program is covered by a federal grant, and NFI has been partnering with Will County for just over a year.
“Our whole department is run off of the federal grant,” said Pamela R., CPRW, who serves as special projects manager for the Workforce Services Division of Will County, adding that the program is part of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
“The grant is designed to help unemployed and underemployed people, whether they go back to school for training or to help them find a job,” she said. “In NFI’s case, it may be someone that doesn’t have a lot of experience driving and they need that extra training. The on-the-job training program offers reimbursement for that time a trainer has taken out of their schedule. We reimburse their wages.”
Pamela says the program is referred to as a career scholarship.
“We pay for participants to go to school to get their CDL license,” Pamela said. “If someone is having trouble finding employment on their own, and if they haven’t already talked to NFI, then I will work with NFI to see if the person is someone NFI would be willing to hire under an OJT contract.”
Pamela added that about 80% of the people in the OJT program are doing so to earn their CDL and drive.
“It’s been a really great partnership (with NFI),” Pamela said.
“I’ve worked in all facets of this. I’ve had people come in and think they’re not qualified,” she said. “People are really grateful for this grant and for an opportunity to have someone else pay for their training program. While a CDL doesn’t cost as much as a four-year university, they are thankful to have the opportunity.”
Another successful program NFI has created is the SheDrives program which aims to ensure women are properly represented and supported in the trucking industry. The initiative is designed to change the narrative and provide opportunities for women to excel in the industry.
NFI’s OJT program has seen an influx of women who are interested in being a part of the industry.
“We’ve had a retention rate of 62%,” Jen said. “It’s just bit higher. We traditionally have a good retention rate at NFI, but it’s slightly above that. When I was looking at the numbers, half of the individuals [that have entered the program] were female. Of the female individuals, our retention rate is 100%.”
Both Pam and Jen believe the program is beneficial to both the company and the community, and they hope the partnership continues to grow.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
NFI is one of these DEI hire woke trucking companies like Werner and XPO. Don’t lower yourself to work for any of the political correct trucking companies