State board awards $400K grant to grow Carson City's commercial driver’s program at WNC
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Fri, 03/18/2022 - 6:10am
The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development Board on Thursday approved a $400,000 grant from the Workforce Innovations for the New Nevada fund to grow a Commercial Driver’s License Training Program at Western Nevada College in Carson City.
“Our In-Demand Occupation analysis shows that Nevada is 4,509 jobs below the national average in licensed commercial drivers,” said Stacey Bostwick, GOED Director of Workforce Development. “This program in Carson City will create 100 training slots for jobs with an average starting wage of $24 per hour and begin to address the deficit in an area of critical workforce development need.”
Nationally it is estimated that there is a shortage of 80,000 commercial drivers that may grow to 170,000 according to the American Trucking Association’s National Truck Driving Shortage Report published in 2021. The Nevada Trucking Association estimates that roughly 92 percent of manufactured goods in Nevada are transported in trucks, making a trained truck driving workforce critical to ensure goods and services reach the state.
“We are extremely thankful to the Governor’s office for support of this program,” said Kyle Dalpe, WNC Interim President. “The CDL program is one of those that will help train workers for an industry that is seeing significant vacancies. We are pleased to be able to offer this program at two campuses, Carson City, and Fallon. From a program standpoint, this funding will help us get students through faster and into jobs.”
Tim Aboussleman, Senior Director of Fleet Operations for ITS Logistics, stated that the wages a full-time Class A licensed truck driver can make at ITS Logistics range from $65,000 to $115,000 per year, plus full benefits, depending on previous work experience.
“The CDL training program is especially attractive to our region because skilled truck drivers are in high demand with local employers,” said Carson City Mayor Lori Bagwell. “This training provides a pathway to a meaningful career and a healthy paycheck. Creating a skilled workforce within Carson City has a positive impact on our entire local economy.”
The expansion of the WNC CDL program to the Carson City campus will build upon the proven success of the existing CDL program already established on the Fallon campus. The Fallon campus CDL training program regularly hosts area employers, including Packer Transportation and Hiskett and Sons Ready Mix, to build connections with and recruit students for post-course completion employment.
Further, the program has developed an ongoing relationship with the advocacy group, REAL Women in Trucking, which provides valuable employment information to students with a focus on opportunities for those with families and avoidance of predatory employment agreements, ensuring that students understand how to find good paying jobs.
The WINN fund was created to address workforce skills need of companies. The program is administered by GOED in coordination with the Nevada System of Higher Education, the Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation, the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation and the Nevada Department of Education.
