Eastern Iowa Community Colleges has secured over $875,000 in grants to enhance its truck driving and commercial truck driving program.
Out of this sum, $797,000 has been granted through the Iowa Workforce Development’s “CDL Infrastructure Grant.” This substantial funding aims to alleviate the program’s backlog, which currently faces demand up to three times its existing capacity.
The college’s strategic utilization of the Iowa CDL Infrastructure Grant involves setting up a new CDL training site in Muscatine, expanding the Blong Technology Center in Davenport with three additional DOT-approved training ranges, and acquiring four modern tractor-trailer combinations equipped with electronic logging devices.
“Due to constraints related to equipment and the number of facilities, the demand for our CDL program is outpacing our ability to train everyone. By establishing a new training facility in Muscatine and expanding those at the Blong, we will more than double our capacity for students,” said Matt Schmit, EICC’s dean of manufacturing and skilled trades.
Given the urgent demand for qualified drivers in eastern Iowa, heightened interest across various demographics has been observed.
“In our region, truck drivers are consistently in high demand,” he said. “We have the interest from students, demand from local employers, and funds to connect more students to employment.”
Considering the state’s projection that Iowa will require over 10,000 commercial drivers annually until 2030, the state has distributed a total of $4.8 million in CDL Infrastructure Grants to 10 community colleges. This initiative is anticipated to train an extra 1,305 drivers each year.
“The pathway to finding a job as a truck driver, one of our most-needed occupations, runs through getting a CDL license,” said Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. “It’s important that we do everything we can to not only make it easier for individuals to obtain these licenses but also to support the long-term viability of the programs that made it possible to gain that experience right here in Iowa.”
Furthermore, Eastern Iowa Community Colleges has received $80,460 from the federal Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training grant program. Designed to enhance operator safety training for CDL holders, this grant, set by the U.S. Congress, prioritizes assisting entities that recruit and train current or former U.S. Armed Forces members and their spouses in obtaining a CDL. EICC’s allocation will establish a program dedicated to training service members.
Source: Transport Topics
