Captain of the road: Kingsley on being a truck driver at DB Schenker

Are you looking for a job? Would you travel more than 7,000 km to find it? Kingsley did. After a troublesome journey, the native Nigerian now works as a truck driver in Germany. Learn what this took of him and how fruitful this decision has been for him and DB Schenker.

"Captains of the road" is still the name given to the truckers who drive their heavy trucks to distant destinations. Kingsley laughs when he hears that: he doesn't necessarily feel like a captain. Kingsley is a professional driver at our Erfurt office engaged in local transport. Getting there was quite a challenge. In 2015, the then 16-year-old left Nigeria to get a job in Europe. Italy, Austria, Germany - after almost a year of travel, he finds himself in a residential home in Ilmenau, Thuringia. 

Kingsley wants to become a professional driver

Once settled down, Kingsley wants to learn the language, a profession. He urges for lessons, and soon he can make up the lower secondary school diploma. Now, Kingsley has a clear vision of this future: He wants to become a professional driver. "I like to drive," he tells us. "And I like being with people." 

Ambition and luck

Good fortune helps Kingsley: his school director heard about the ambitious young man. He calls Uwe, branch manager at DB Schenker, and recommends Kingsley. Uwe says: "We have been desperately looking for drivers and even launched the "Drivers Recruit Drivers" campaign for this purpose." Nevertheless, Uwe is initially skeptical because the training is demanding. A lot of content is easier to grasp if the participant has been involved with engines at an early stage. Training also requires good language skills - and Kingsley has been in Germany for just one year. But Uwe is persuaded. And after a short internship, he offers Kingsley a training position which he completes successfully within three years.

A real stroke of luck for DB Schenker

Soon, the young man from Nigeria proves to be an absolute godsend for the company because he learns quickly and relieves the other drivers. And the good fortune also applies in reverse: "I couldn't have done it without DB Schenker," says Kingsley, "I am grateful!"

"His will and unshakable belief in his abilities are amazing," says Uwe of the young driver. Uwe has provided him with a company buddy in the form of colleague Michael, who supports him in the company, and also through adversities in everyday life. Kingsley had to find an apartment, fight against the threat of deportation, and overcome resistance and prejudice in his new home. "It was difficult at first, but since I've been driving myself, it has gotten a lot better," Kingsley says. Today, he feels more at home in Thuringia and wants to stay in the region. Kingsley works as a short-distance driver. "I come in early in the morning and find out from the dispatcher where I'm supposed to go. I love driving around the country and know my way around here now," says the 22-year-old.
 
Kingsley still has one dream: to have his own company someday. "My own business and then two or three trucks - that would be great," he says. The fascination for the road and the varied work in land transport has taken hold of him. And he knows that drivers will remain the backbone of the logistics industry in the future.