Des Moines Area Community College is getting an 88-thousand dollar federal grant to pay for truck driver safety training and to help current and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces to get a commercial driver's license, or C-D-L.
DMACC hopes to recruit, train and graduate 20-veterans from their driving program, and help them find jobs.
The grant is from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“Our goal is to recruit, train and graduate 20 veterans from the DMACC Transportation Institute and assist them with career placement,” said DMACC Transportation Director Dave Pfiffner. “The grant funds will help cover tuition, fees and other related costs to obtaining a CDL. Both active military/reservists and veterans, as well as their spouses and children, are eligible for assistance.”Pfiffner said
DMACC’s Transportation Institute curriculum includes 180 classroom hours, 30 off-road hours and another 30-hours of behind-the-wheel training.
“We feel we were chosen to receive this federal grant on the basis of the quality and reputation of our CDL program, the cost per participant and our reputation for working with veterans,” said DMACC Grants and Contracts Director Deb Koua.
DMACC was one of nine institutions to receive this funding from across the country.