East Volusia News

Daytona State College leaders held a ribbon-cutting ceremony today celebrating the launch of a Commercial Driver’s License training program in partnership with FleetForce Truck Driving School.

The program leverages $1.3 million allocated to DSC by Gov. DeSantis and the state Legislature to address the nation’s supply chain issues and ongoing need for certified commercial freight haulers. An estimated 1,200 commercial truck drivers retire every week, and the trucking industry projects a need for 1.1 million more drivers over the next decade to meet consumer demand.

“Our mission is to meet the needs of our constituents – the citizens and business leaders of Volusia and Flagler counties,” said Dr. Tom LoBasso, President of Daytona State College. “This program gives students an opportunity to quickly learn new skills in a high-demand field and helps address the challenges to our transportation and supply chain issues."

The first class of eight students starts April 10 at DSC’s Advanced Technology College and is already full. The College plans to start a new class every week and expects to train 200 drivers annually.

The four-week, 160-hour program consists of one week of classroom time and three weeks of time in a truck. As part of the College’s partnership with FleetForce, DSC is providing classroom and office space and a driving pad, and FleetForce is conducting the training and providing the vehicles.

The state funding covers 77% of tuition for each student for the first year of the program. Daytona State has already begun working with local employers to create scholarship opportunities for students to have the balance of their tuition covered by employers in return for an employment commitment for a specified amount of time.

For inquiries regarding the CDL training program, email CBI@DaytonaState.edu or call 386-506-3858.

Original source can be found here.