While artificial intelligence has moved in on certain types of entry-level jobs, driverless trucking doesn’t seem likely to become a reality anytime soon, certainly not judging by the numbers of community colleges that have their chips cashed in on new or expanded commercial driver’s license (CDL) programs.
The industry is always looking for qualified drivers, and the median age of truck drivers is higher than most occupations. This means trucking companies and other entities like municipal sanitation departments need their own training programs or, as is typically the case for smaller to medium-sized operators, an outside partner to run them, says Nathan Mehrens, vice president for workforce policy at the American Trucking Association.
This excerpt comes from the December/January issue of the Community College Journal, published by the American Association of Community Colleges.
“We take an all-of-the-above approach to workforce development. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution,” he says, adding that the ATA’s membership ranges from large national carriers to “one guy with one truck” and everything in between. “Demographic issues are going to come to bear in the next decade or so and put more of a squeeze on the workforce. We are also in competition with other trades. We see the community college system as one of the key ways that we go about handling workforce development. … For smaller members in particular that don’t have in-house training, it’s a good place to look for talent, locally.”
Mehrens expresses optimism that the changes to the Pell Grant program contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last summer that permits funding for qualifying short-term training programs will open opportunities for more students to participate in CDL programs.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a silver bullet,” he says. “But at the margins, it makes a difference.”
He adds that ATA has advocated for the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act, which Congress failed to do on schedule last year, to provide additional tuition coverage, and he hopes that reauthorization will be revived.
Expansion in Nebraska
Western Nebraska Community College (WNCC) is among the two-year colleges that have expanded opportunities to obtain CDL certificates. With a 17,000-square-mile, 12.5-county service area, WNCC had been getting requests from outlying campuses and launched a program on its campus in Sidney, about 75 miles away – and thus too far for people there to easily commute to the main campus.
The program began after WNCC partnered with Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska, to apply for U.S. Department of Labor funding to hire additional instructors and purchase new equipment, with classroom theory and simulator practice on campus and driving instruction at nearby Floyd’s Truck Center. The “Rural Nebraska Increased Access to Truck Driving CDL” program is 100% funded by the Labor Department through $1 million grant.
“Other parts of our service area were hard to serve in this manner with CDL training,” says Doug Mader, workforce training director at WNCC. “We thought, ‘How can we do this in a fashion that helps our neighbors, even if they’re 100 miles away?’”
Among the challenges were finding qualified instructors in those outlying areas, given that they need to stay in compliance with federal requirements around driving instruction, Mader says. The federal grant provided the ability to purchase extra equipment, including another truck and trailer, as well as funding to hire instructors, he says.
Advice from the field
WNCC has created an advisory board that meets twice a year to provide connections with industry and input into what employers need and what’s changed in the business, Mader says.
“Some of them are employers who hire our students and can give us feedback on things that need to be touched on a little better,” he says. In addition to the core driving curriculum, “We still have to continue to focus on employability skills. You can’t be someone who drives a truck but show up late. We teach how to be a professional, in terms of how to work with clients.”
In addition to the newly expanded program in Sidney, for which Floyd’s Truck Center has provided its nearly five-acre gravel lot in its truck maintenance facility for students’ use, WNCC also has offered instruction in Chadron, in a dedicated classroom at Chadron State College, in partnership with the Nebraska Department of Transportation, which has a fenced facility near the highway. According to Mader, that’s on hold for now as the program seeks a new instructor after a recent resignation. Both locations have signed an MOU allowing free use, and “it’s phenomenal to have those locations where students can safely practice basic control skills, backing, and shifting in a large and safe environment,” he says.
WNCC relies heavily on social media to promote the program to prospective students and instructors, along with its own website, a third-party recruiting website the college uses, the local Chamber of Commerce, and partners like Floyd’s, Mader says.
The program is in demand, with classes already filled through the end of 2025 by September, although recruiting and retaining instructors has been more challenging, according to Mader.
“In order to keep tuition costs down, we can’t hire full-time trainers at these new locations. That limits the pool of qualified individuals that have the ability and desire to be a trainer for us,” he says.
Near I-95
CDL programming has come to Halifax Community College (HCC) in Weldon, North Carolina, with the first eight graduates of the program finishing last summer. Located near I-95, the college saw an opportunity to meet the needs of the community and local trucking companies who had stressed that they often faced challenges in finding qualified drivers, says Delmus Willis, director of workforce and continuing education.
The college received scholarship funding from the Golden LEAF Foundation, which has helped to pay for students’ tuition for both day and night classes; the latter requires fewer hours but is only for students who already had their learner’s permit, Willis explains. Halifax did need to pay for two truck-trailers at a cost of about $90,000 apiece, although funding from the state helped with equipment and supplies like safety vests and logs.
HCC kept the program to five weeks for the night class and seven weeks for the day class, focusing on quality over quantity of instruction, Willis says.
“They’re trying to get into this new career and get a job,” he says. “We know that we’re in a rural area. Students taking a CDL class need help to get them on their feet, when it comes to this new career, to get them catapulted.”
HCC made a big splash on social media and other advertising to recruit the first class of students, but probably 75% of marketing since then has been through word-of-mouth, Willis says.
The program has forged partnerships with local companies like GFL Environmental Inc. and Ezzell Trucking that send candidates to the class, comprising about 10% of graduates and students to date, and Willis hopes to keep those going and add to them. At first, he struggled to find qualified instructors but has been fortunate to find a couple of them who both have driving experience and a passion to help students.
“We’ve been very aggressive as far as having as many classes as we could,” he says. “But at the same time, we wanted quality.”
Although there always will be a need for truckers, the challenge is staying up-to-date on changes in the business and government regulations, Willis says.
“With CDL, not only do we answer to the federal government but also state and local government,” he says. “The great part is, no matter what changes, CDL will always be a vital part of our economy.”
