The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development Board today approved a $400,000 grant from the Workforce Innovations for the New Nevada (WINN) fund to grow a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Training Program at Western Nevada College (WNC).
“Our In-Demand Occupation analysis shows that Nevada is 4,509 jobs below the national average in licensed commercial drivers,” said Stacey Bostwick, GOED Director of Workforce Development. “This program in Carson City will create 100 training slots for jobs with an average starting wage of $24 per hour and begin to address the deficit in an area of critical workforce development need.”
Nationally it is estimated that there is a shortage of 80,000 commercial drivers that may grow to 170,000 according to the American Trucking Association’s National Truck Driving Shortage Report published in 2021. The Nevada Trucking Association estimates that roughly 92 percent of manufactured goods in Nevada are transported in trucks, making a trained truck driving workforce critical to ensure goods and services reach the state.
“We are extremely thankful to the Governor’s office for support of this program,” said Kyle Dalpe, WNC Interim President. “The CDL program is one of those that will help train workers for an industry that is seeing significant vacancies. We are pleased to be able to offer this program at two campuses, Carson City, and Fallon. From a program standpoint, this funding will help us get students through faster and into jobs.”
Tim Aboussleman,Senior Director of Fleet Operations for ITS Logistics, stated that the wages a full-time Class A licensed truck driver can make at ITS Logistics range from $65,000 to $115,000 per year, plus full benefits, depending on previous work experience.
