Reynolds announces new grants to address truck driver shortage
posted on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 in
College News
DES MOINES, Iowa - The State of Iowa estimates the state will need 10,000 more truck drivers by 2030, but with a low unemployment rate, trucking companies are finding it harder to recruit.
New funding announced by Governor Kim Reynolds sets out to ease the shortage. 10 Iowa community colleges are getting a combined $4.8 million to expand and remodel classrooms.
Aaron Sauerbrei with Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo says, “I challenge anybody to drive down the road and look at a semi. I guarantee you there’s a ‘help wanted’ sign on there, on their semi.”
Sauerbrei says next year, there’ll be 6,000 truck driver openings in Iowa - 3500 of which are in northeastern Iowa.
“3,500 truck driver openings is a lot. It has a tremendous impact on our economy,” Sauerbrei said.
Hawkeye is one of the 10 colleges to receive grants from the state to remodel classrooms.
“Classroom capacity has been one of our key barriers over the last couple of years. With additional classroom space, we hope to increase our training by 40 percent. Currently, we’re doing about 175 and we want to be up closer to 250 per year,” Sauerbrei said.
Hawkeye is getting $1 million.
“What we plan to do is add two additional classrooms and an additional service bay so that we can do pre-trip, post-trip inspections inside because that way it helps us train year-round,” Sauerbrei said.
Sauerbrei says it costs just under $5,000 to get your CDL or Commercial Driver’s License.
“Right now, a lot of our local employers are offering, you know, $80,000 a year, you know. So, I mean the investment even if it was out of pocket if you were to have to go that route, it’s well worth it in the long run,” Sauerbrei said.
Sauerbrei says the program is competency-based and can be finished in a matter of weeks.
“So, people can finish in as little as 10 days or up to six weeks. It really depends on the individual and what their experience is,” Sauerbrei said.
The state estimates they’ll get about 1,300 new truck drivers per year due to the grant. Sauerbrei says getting even 50 to 75 truck drivers on the road per year in their territory would knock a dent in the shortage.
Since this program leads to a license and not traditional college credit, certain forms of financial aid are not available - such as student loans, but Hawkeye Community College does have some financial assistance available for students seeking their CDL.
By Conner Hendricks, KCRG
Tags
- Regional Transportation Training Center
- Truck Driving and Transportation Training