Northeast Community College

Amount Appropriated?

$1.0M

FFID tracks stages 1–2 — stages 3–5 vary by agency, assistance type, and earmark structure.

Project Description

Truck Driving is an essential career that is necessary for the movement of goods to maintain quality of life in Nebraska. There is a huge workforce demand for qualified employees and there is a low-cost barrier to entry. The short-term CDL training is all that is necessary to get more commercial driver\u2019s license professionals on the road earning high wages. In the Northeast service region, there were 3,183 truck driving jobs available and in Western Nebraska service area there were 695 jobs available. In Nebraska, the trucking industry is the third largest employer with 1 in 12 Nebraskans employed in the field. Heavy and tractor-trailer drivers are ranked first among Nebraska\u2019s top H3 occupations, according to the Nebraska Department of Labor. The state\u2019s average wage in 2020 for truck drivers was $63,401. The three economic development districts covering most of Nebraska 3rd District -- Northeast, Central, and Panhandle \u2013 reviewed the Colleges\u2019 plans for the transportation industry an found them in alignment with their Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies. Both community colleges have a strong relationship with the Nebraska Department of Labor. Communities currently requesting truck driving training within the 3rd district that would benefit from this include Gering, Bayard, Mitchell, Morrill, Scottsbluff, Chadron, Ainsworth, O\u2019Neill, Hartington, Wayne, and South Sioux City (See attached letters of support). We believe we would be able to train more than 200 individuals in the first year with direct student support for approximately 102 students who financially qualify. We believe after the one year of this grant, we will continue to work with private industry to utilize the equipment for continued training opportunities. We hope you will strongly consider this request for Community Project Funding that will provide great economic benefit to the 3rd District of Nebraska.