The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has awarded Lone Star College a Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training Grant.
“America is facing a serious shortage of trained truck drivers,” said Lorie Latigo, LSC Senior Manager, Truck Driving Logistics. “These funds will help ensure we have the properly trained labor force to keep goods and supplies moving.”
The grant will be used to expand the number of Commercial Driver’s License holders receiving operator safety training, to assist current or former members of the United States Armed Forces and their spouses with opportunity to enter the trucking industry and to extend grant opportunities to candidates from underserved communities.
The American Trucking Associations estimates that the industry will have to recruit nearly 1 million new drivers to replace retiring drivers, drivers who leave voluntarily and account for the additional drivers needed for industry growth over the next decade.
In all, the DOT awarded $3.1 million in grants to 19 community colleges and truck driving schools throughout the country. This is the sixth time Lone Star College has been awarded this grant.
The Lone Star College Truck Driving program teaches students the skills needed to become a truck driver, including pre-trip inspection, basic control skills, backing and city, street and highway driving.
“This program meets the Federal Motor Carrier Entry-Level Driver Training requirements,” said Latigo.
The Lone Star College-Transportation & Global Logistics Technology Center is a brand-new, 16,000 square foot state-of-the-art training facility where students learn the skills necessary to become a truck driver. The facility houses 6 classrooms, a large driving track, 6 backing pads and a realistic truck driving simulator.
Visit LoneStar.edu/Truck-Driving to learn more on how you can keep America moving.
Lone Star College enrolls over 80,000 students each semester providing high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., serves as chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area and has been named a 2021 Great Colleges to Work For® institution by the Chronicle of Higher Education, ranked 35th in Texas in the Forbes ‘America’s Best Employers By State’ list and recognized by Fortune Magazine and Great Place To Work® as one of this year’s Best Workplaces in Texas™. LSC consists of eight colleges, seven centers, eight Workforce Centers of Excellence and Lone Star Corporate College. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.