DOT Grants Will Train Veterans for Trucking Careers

• The latest round of Department of Transportation grants to train truck drivers include community colleges across the United States.
• The grant program trains veterans and their spouses for jobs in the trucking industry.
• The U.S. has in recent years struggled with a national truck driver shortage.

With truck drivers in short supply nationwide, the U.S. Department of Transportation is delivering millions to colleges to train veterans in the profession.

The Department of Transportation this month announced $3.1 million in grants to community colleges and training institutes to help current and former members of the military get training for trucking careers. The funding is part of the Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Operator Safety Training Grant, which was set up by Congress in 2005.

The grant program aims to boost the number of commercial driver's license (CDL) holders with enhanced operator safety training, open up doors in the trucking industry for veterans and their spouses and boost opportunities for people in underserved communities.

“Veterans know how to get things where they need to go safely. At a time when our supply chain depends on having more qualified truck drivers, this program will give those who have served in uniform a new and important way to contribute, and benefit, by launching a new career in this vital industry,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a release.

Community colleges and training institutes that received grants this year include:

• Advanced Technology Institute, $175,000
• Central Georgia Technical College, $150,900
• Collin Community College, $191,000
• Commercial Driver Services Inc, $200,000
• Community College of Baltimore County, $197,410
• Des Moines Area Community College, $112,500
• Global Trucking Academy LLC, $196,100
• Hawkeye Community College, $132,359
• Johnson County Community College$75,000
• Klamath Community College$194,106
• Lehigh Carbon Community College, $193,677
• Lone Star College System District, $60,600
• Nordic Enterprises, $198,429
• Northwest Florida State College, $186,480
• Tidewater Community College, $102,769
• Truck Driver Institute of FL, Inc., $195,860
• Truck Driver Institute, Inc., $195,860
• Wor Wic Community College, $147,550
• York County School of Technology, $194,400

The DOT grants were announced as states and the federal government are increasing investment in community college programs for workforce and infrastructure training.

• President Joe Biden’s proposed fiscal year 2023 budget includes $100 million for the Strengthening Community College Training Grants.
• Rep. Robert Scott, a Virginia Democrat and chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, introduced a reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) that would allocate $771 million for community college programs.
• The Department of Labor in July doled out $121 million in apprenticeship grants with a significant portion going to community colleges.
• The Department of Commerce this month announced the $500 million Good Jobs Challenge, which is investing heavily in community college programs and partnerships.
• In Virginia, community colleges this month announced an infrastructure academy to train workers in a wide range of fields that is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.