MUSCATINE, Iowa — As the nation continues to struggle with a growing shortage of CDL-certified truck drivers, Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is expanding its training program and hopes to ready even more students for a career on the road.
EICC expanded its Commercial Driver's License program to the Muscatine Community College campus. The program required the building of a new DOT-approved training range.
The new range, along with four new tractor-trailer combinations and the expansion of the Scott Community College's truck driving program, was made possible through a $797,000 grant from Iowa Workforce Development and an additional $500,000 investment from EICC.
The new DOT-approved training range in Muscatine is now operational, with classes beginning on June 1. Students can gain hands-on experience behind the wheel of tractor-trailers equipped with modern Electronic Logging Devices. The average length of the program runs from four to seven weeks, depending on the student.
It's extremely needed as well.
A study in the American Journal of Transportation found that in 2023, America needed more than 80,000 drivers to make up the shortage. It's a problem that's only getting worse. By the year 2030, the study estimates the U.S. will be short by 160,000 truck drivers.
EICC says there's been a waiting list for its CDL programs for years.
“The CDL program at EICC has come a long way in its 50 years. We have a mission in training our drivers. We won’t put anyone out on the road unless we can go home and sleep at night, believing that they are going to be safe out there," Tom Monroe, truck driving program manager at EICC, said.
You can check out the program for yourself, by clicking here.
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