Chattanooga State launches new freight brokerage workforce training course

Beginning August 2nd, Chattanooga State will be launching a new workforce development training.

The course will prepare students to enter the lucrative field of freight brokerage.

The new Chatt State Freight Academy is 8 weeks long and will teach students how to enter into the workforce as an experienced freight broker.

This course is offered on Tuesday and Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and is taught by Bruce Clements. Clements is the Director of Freight Operations for Kenco, just one of over 50 freight brokerages in Chattanooga. He said his students will have a job secured before they ever leave the classroom.

“When they come out of that class, they should expect to have a base salary of anywhere between $40,000 and $45,000 plus commission. Freight brokerages don’t care about your college degree, or your gender or your race, it doesn’t matter. As long as you come out with that drive to be able to make sales and you’re tough enough to handle the rejection that comes along with it. If you’re willing to put in the work to make sure that everything goes right for your customers. You can do really well,” said Clements

Freight brokers serve as middlemen between shippers and carriers. Their average annual earning of a freight broker is $90,000 according to the job site Indeed. However, Clement said it takes the right mindset to build a career in sales, something he hopes to instill in his students

“So it’s a whole mental game, like they’ve got to come out with the right drive. They’ve got to be willing to accept it, that they’re going to be bad days in sales. It’s a whole mindset,” said Clements “And that’s what I’m going to try to do. Of course, I’m going to teach them how to do the job and do it well, but they need the mindset to be able to do it without hesitation, without getting discouraged, without burning out. That is what they’re lacking from traditional training programs.”

Clement said he looks forward to opening his students’ minds up to the possibility of making more money by how hard you work, not how long you work.

“So the better you do, you know making sales, the better job you do, letting your customer rely on you, you’re gonna make more money yourself. Freight brokerage is always going to have some method of commission that comes along with it. So, the better job you do, the more money you make for yourself. That’s why I really got into it. So I came from, you know, no matter how many hours you work, no matter how good of a job you do, you’re gonna make the same amount of money every month,” said Clements. “The harder you work, the more money you can make. That’s when I got into it, and I loved it. I just like to pass that along to other people. You know, there’s no better feeling than sharing that.”

To learn more about a career in freight brokerage or to apply for the course, visit Chattanoogastate.edu