SAINTE-CLAIRE, Quebec — Prevost is sponsoring the Celebrity Bus Drivers Academy again this year, which will be held May 16-18, 2012. The Academy was co-founded by industry veterans Chip Huffman and Tandy Rice and will take place at the 58,000 square-foot Prevost parts and service center in Goodlettsville, Tenn.

Class sizes will be kept small and have between 10 and 20 students. They are designed to teach potential drivers the skills and professionalism needed to operate motorcoaches, handle celebrity clients, and deal with the logistics and complexities of touring. The Academy has graduated about 40 students in its first two years of operations, and “several drivers are driving full time on major tours,” Huffman said in a press release.

Instructors and presenters will include Prevost technician trainers, coach conversion industry technicians, veteran drivers, leasing agents, bus company owners, safety directors, insurance professionals and security experts. Students will gain hands-on familiarity with the types of vehicles they may drive someday, courtesy of a Prevost converted entertainer coach and a pre-conversion coach that will be on hand.

Huffman, founder and former owner of Nashville’s Nitetrain Coach, said he was constantly fielding calls from people who hoped to “drive for the stars.”

“There’s an overwhelming interest in this market, and a huge need for training,” he said in a press release. “We’re pleased to be working with Prevost to help prepare drivers who are highly trained and understand the unique requirements of this business.”

The academy also works with the Top Billing Driver Placement Agency to qualify participants for elite, highly sought-after positions, and its students have secured full or part time placements with almost every major company in the business.

For more information, please visit Huffman & Rice Inc.’s website, www.huffman-rice.com.

Click here to apply for the Celebrity Bus Drivers Academy.

Source: Prevost