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Clark State Community College has been approved for nearly $100,000 in state funds for its Commercial Driver License program, making training that can help fill high-demand jobs more available.
The community college has been approved for the OhioMeansJobs Workforce Development Revolving Loan Program. The money will be used as financial aid for students.
“We are proactively trying to do everything we can do for our students and business community, and this is a step in the right direction,” said Dr. Amit Singh, provost and vice president of academic affairs. “This is a big industry in our area, and this will help us provide more resources to our students.”
Part of Clark State’s mission is to get people into available jobs as quickly as possible, Singh said.
“There’s a gap between those who want to but can’t qualify and those who can’t pay for it out of their pockets,” he said. “This is a great resource to fill that gap.”
It’s definitely a need, both in Clark County and across the nation, according to Thomas Hicswa, director of Clark State’s Commercial Transportation Training Center.
“There are job opportunities galore,” he said.
Hicswa was at a conference last week held by the American Trucking Association, where he learned there is a shortage of 35,000 drivers across the country. More than 300,000 seats will need to be filled by 2022, the association has estimated.
A student can turn into a well-paid employee in a littlemore than a month, Hicswa said.
“You can come through our program in five weeks and then get an entry-level job making $35,000 to $38,000 a year,” he said, citing U.S. Department of Labor data.
Ohio alonehas 2,400 openings each year for heavy truck drivers, Hicswa said. The need is exasperated by several factors, like many motor carriers going out of business during the recession, the retirement of baby boomers and time away from family for long hauls, he added.
As a result, many companies are looking at increasing wages and creating more home time for drivers.
Another lesser-known factor also comes into play, Hicswa said.
“You can get a CDL at the age of 18 but you can’t cross state lines at least until you’re 21,” he said. “We’re losing a lot of high school graduates because of this. In the meantime, they had found another job and aren’t interested anymore.”
The federal government is looking to change that, he said, and a pilot program is collecting data to see how lowering the age might impact the industry.
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