The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has awarded $2.3 million in grants to 13 technical and community colleges across the country to help train veterans and their families for jobs as commercial bus and truck drivers.
“One of the most important, fastest-growing employment sectors is for qualified commercial vehicle drivers, and veterans bring invaluable experience to the industry and can enter the workforce quickly,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We support job opportunities for veterans who have served our country, but not only because it is the right thing to do — it also makes good sense.”
The FMCSA has doubled the funds, which are issued through the Commercial Motor Vehicle – Operator Safety Training grant program, from what it issued last year.
“We doubled the amount we have previously provided through this grant program because of the important role qualified commercial truck and bus drivers hold in moving our economy forward,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling. “The men and women who complete these commercial driver training programs also serve our country in a vital way by making safety their top priority every mile, every day.”
Penske Recruits, Serves Veterans
Penske Truck Leasing and Penske Logistics are actively recruiting and hiring veterans nationwide and have committed to hiring several hundred U.S. military veterans and their spouses into their workforce over the next several years through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our Heroes program. In 2014, 13 percent of Penske’s new hires were veterans.
Jennifer Sockel, Penske senior vice president of human resources, said, “We’ve had continuous success hiring veterans and their spouses onto our team and we value their experience, training and dedication to excellence in supporting our customers.”
In recognition of its efforts, Penske Truck Leasing and Penske Logistics have appeared on the Victory Media Top 100 Military-Friendly Employer list, which is issued by the publisher of G.I. Jobs and Military Spouse magazines, for several years. Penske has also been honored by the Department of Defense’s Employer of the Guard and Reserve with the Seven Seals, Above and Beyond and Patriot awards.
Penske also partners with the Paralyzed Veterans of America’s Mission: ABLE campaign, Support Military Spouses, World T.E.A.M. Sports and Toys for Tots.
2015 FMCSA Truck Driver Training Program Grant Recipients
FMCSA awarded its 2015 Commercial Motor Vehicle – Operator Safety Training grants to a variety of educational institutions that provide truck driver training, and the funds will provide training for hundreds of new students, the agency said. Recipients include:
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[column]
California
West Hills Community College District,
Coalinga, $199,460
Georgia
Central Georgia Technical College,
Macon, $146,771
Maryland
Cecil College,
North East, $101,825
New York
Erie 2 Chautauqua Cattaraugus BOCES,
Angola, $105,201
North Carolina
North Carolina Department of Transportation,
Raleigh, $200,000
Ohio
Cuyahoga Community College
District, Cleveland, $195,040
Oklahoma
Central Technical Center,
Drumright, $200,000
[/column][column]Pennsylvania
Lancaster County Career & Technology Center,
Willow Street, $194,811
Pennsylvania
Northampton County Area Community College,
Bethlehem, $134,400
Pennsylvania
The Sage Corporation,
Camp Hill, $198,504
South Carolina
Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College,
Orangeburg, $197,399
Texas
Alamo Colleges/St. Philip’s College,
San Antonio, $196,680
Virginia
Tidewater Community
College, Norfolk, $199,879
[/column][/column-group]
For the fifth consecutive year 
Criteria for the survey included a benchmark score across key programs and policies such as the strength of company military recruiting efforts, the percentage of new hires with prior military service, retention programs and company policies on National Guard and Reserve service.