Community Colleges in Four States Enhance CDL Training

Efforts to get more truck drivers on the road are taking place in several states with new community commercial driver license training programs and expanded third-party testing locations.

Initiatives to expand CDL training and testing are occurring in Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Nebraska.

Scottsbluff-based Western Nebraska Community College is preparing to launch April 7 its first Class A CDL class in Sidney using funding from a U.S. Department of Labor grant. The area some 250 miles from the Wyoming border is experiencing increased demand for truck drivers. WNCC aims to expand its Class A and Class B CDL courses to the northern panhandle to train more students there.

“We’re very excited to launch the CDL class in Sidney. This program will help fill the vital need for more commercial drivers in the southern panhandle,” said Doug Mader, WNCC workforce training director.

This program will help fill the vital need for more commercial drivers.

Doug Mader, WNCC workforce training director

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Adams Industries Trucking and Floyd’s Truck Center are among the industry partners that helped develop the CDL program and secure training locations.

This initial class will last through May. Classroom theory and simulator practice will be held at the WNCC Sidney campus for the first two weeks, prior to in-truck training at Adams Industries in Sidney for the remainder of the class.

Free training in the CDL program through financial assistance is available while funding lasts, according to WNCC. In addition, Nebraska residents are eligible to have the $4,950 tuition paid through gap tuition funding and receive tuition assistance from the Department of Labor grant.

An hour’s drive from Shreveport, La., the first CDL training program will be offered starting April 14 at Bossier Parish Community College’s Natchitoches campus.

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Brownlee 

“The launch of BPCC’s new CDL training program at our Natchitoches campus represents a significant step in expanding workforce training opportunities in the region,” said Joseph Brownlee, dean of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics division. “With the growing demand for skilled commercial drivers, this program will provide students with the training and certifications needed to secure high-paying, in-demand jobs while supporting transportation and logistics industries that are vital to our local and state economy.”

BPCC’s new CDL training offers CDL Classes A-B licenses. Students will combine classroom instruction with training in a fully equipped tractor-trailer.

Kansas City Kansas Community College is partnering with ARES CDL Institute to offer accredited CDL training in a six-week, 180-hour course. The college will assist with job placement and training. In announcing the program, the school highlighted that starting salaries range from $50,000 to $70,000.

Echoing the possibility of rocketing to a high-income career after only six weeks of training was Harold Fears, owner and president of Kansas City, Kan.-based ARES CDL Institute. He works with departments of corrections in Kansas and Missouri to help educate former inmates on the value of a job as a truck driver.

“Imagine coming out of prison, being able to go to school and make $50,000 to $70,000 per year,” he said. “That’s a life changer.”

Fears also noted that truck driving is a viable career move for military veterans.

In March, the Missouri Department of Revenue approved MTC Truck Driver Training, headquartered in St. Louis, as a third-party CDL testing site because of high demand.

“We recognized the need in our community to provide a more accessible path for aspiring truck drivers,” said Joe Smith, education director at MTC Truck Driver Training. “By offering CDL testing directly at our St. Ann, Mo., location, we’re ensuring a seamless path for individuals to get trained, tested and on the road to a rewarding career.”

In a related development, Florida State College in Jacksonville has formed a partnership with Ancora Training to offer a online hazmat endorsement course.

“The new program provides learners at FSCJ, as well as members of the public that currently hold CDL-A, the opportunity to obtain their endorsement on their own schedule,” according to Ancora Training. “Obtaining the hazmat endorsement has the potential to open doors to new employment possibilities with transportation companies who recognize the value of having a hazmat endorsement.”