Two North American companies are recruiting in the country through a national subsidiary, Dominican drivers, to work as carriers in the Commercial Port of Laredo, Texas, the United States, which is currently facing a shortage of drivers for the transfer and supply of goods and cargo.
The company is Ebtra Consulting LLC (EMTRA) and its subsidiary in the Dominican Republic, Luxim SRL investments, which, together with Texas A&m International University (TAMIU), will be able to set up a platform that will allow the Commercial Port of Laredo to hire, temporarily, Dominican drivers to supply part of the deficit of carriers in that state.
This was explained by EMTRA’s representative in the country, Juan Planchart Marquez, who is carrying out a process of recruitment and pre-selection of drivers to make them available to transportation companies in Texas, which require this service in various sectors.
170,000 drivers
He says that the North American trucking market faces a shortage of more than 170,000 drivers, which has caused a crisis within the supply chain.
He also says that 57% of the driver shortage is in fuel supply, followed by 38% in food transportation, 18% in mining, and the remaining 4% in other commercial sectors.
English and no criminal record
Candidates to work at the Port of Ladero, according to Planchart Márquez, must present certification of no criminal record, laboratory medical examination, English language level, academic degree, and work experience as a heavy transport driver.
He emphasizes that, when the candidates complete the first level of the requirements, they must study the Commercial Driver’s License Manual of the State of Texas to take the theoretical exam and obtain the driver’s license.
“Once the State of Texas driver’s license is obtained, the LUXIM company will give them an online course in the Dominican Republic with a certified company in the USA (United States of America),” Márquez pointed out.
The company will have a digital platform that will allow those interested to obtain basic knowledge of the English language, which will allow them to communicate with traffic officers in case they are inspected on the roads.
The president of Inversiones Luxim SRL said that the pre-selected Dominican drivers would be part of a database that will be made available to the Laredo City Transportation Association for their evaluation and future hiring.
He indicated that four Texas transportation companies are interested in hiring Dominican drivers through the referred program that is managed in the country by the company Inversiones Luxim SRL.
“This is in order for their profiles to be evaluated by the transportation companies, and those drivers selected by these companies will go to the second phase that involves the initial processing of the U.S. visa H.2B.”
The H-2B visa program allows U.S. employers or employment agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs.
Juan Planchart Márquez, a Venezuelan national, explains that the pre-selected drivers, who will be part of the database, must assume the costs associated with the courses that will be given to them in the Dominican Republic, as well as the costs of laboratories and medical consultations required.
However, it maintains that the other expenses generated, such as lawyers’ services, SDQ logistics, initial lodging, health examination, a continuation of the English course, and theoretical and practical driver training in Laredo-Texas, will be covered by the contracting companies.
Through the Dominican subsidiary, said Márquez, they have interviewed 125 drivers specialized in cargo transportation, of which only 14 withdrew from the process.
He stated that to date, 39 candidates presented their medical exams from the Diabetes, Obesity and Specialties Center (CEMDOE) laboratory, as well as certification of non-criminality from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
“We are currently in the phase of explaining the terms and conditions of the H-2B Visa, we estimate that by mid-September we will know how many drivers from the Dominican Republic have been selected by these companies; in order to begin the legal process of Labor Certification, for once these companies are certified, the process of completing the I-129 forms by candidate begins and finally the appointment at the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic to be granted the visa, if approved,” he explained.
The representative in the Dominican Republic of the company Ebtra Consulting LLC (ENTRA) gave journalists of acento.com.do several communications and certifications of the companies and companies interested in hiring drivers specialized in the transportation of cargo and goods.