Job Training Success Story - Antonios Pavlidis

If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

It’s a question we’ve all been asked at least once in our life. Some of us conjure up childhood dream jobs (ice cream taste tester, movie star), others day-dream more lucrative careers (President, CEO of a big company). For Antonios Pavlidis, his answer was simple… he wanted to drive; specifically he wanted his Commercial Driver’s License.

“I was always in love with driving and traveling. Now I have the opportunity to do something for the first time in my life that I wanted to do,” said Antonios. “Not something that I have to do to have money, something that makes me feel excited.”

With a background in customer service and sales, he’s held jobs that he’s been good at but just not ones that fulfilled him. When he and his wife immigrated to the United States from Greece in 2016, he used it as an opportunity to research the trucking industry and its requirements. With his goal fixed, he (as with some of our other CDL students) independently obtained his CDL Class A temporary permit, the first stage in receiving a Commercial Driver’s License. From there, he was referred to Boca Helping Hands where he was blown away by the comprehensiveness of the curriculum in our Phase I Job Readiness Classes.

“I didn’t expect the quality and level of information that I got in these classes,” Antonios shared. “I didn’t think it would be so high level. It helped me to understand myself, how people think, act, how to communicate, and of course, how to get a job and be successful in a job.”

When the time came for Antonios to take his CDL Class A driver’s examination, he had already completed his job search. Having already applied and interviewed with Schneider Transportation and Logistics Services, Antonios accepted an offer of employment the very day he received his CDL.

“I feel very lucky that [in] my path to reach my goal I found Boca Helping Hands,” he added. “The environment is perfect, people are very polite and helpful, it’s fantastic. It is nice to have an organization where you live to help you to reach your goals or improve yourself.”

If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

Antonios had his answer, and thankfully Boca Helping Hands had his solution.