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Dive Summary:
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials promoted a truck driver training grant program during the Mid-America Trucking Show last month, noting 3 million dollars is available for schools and some businesses.
- The program changes lives by funding CDL training for military members and their spouses, as well as those from underserved communities and refugees, said Patrick Nemons, FMCSA director of safety programs.
- “It pays you to go to school to get your professional driver’s license,” Nemons he said during a panel at the trade show. “Entities that can apply for this are community colleges, vocational schools [and] truck schools’.
Dive Insight:
Almost all 20 beneficiaries of this funding last year were community colleges, but money from the Professional Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training Program it also reached out to a handful of driving school businesses.
“People think, ‘Well, it’s not for me. There is no way I can get this grant. It’s very competitive,” Nemons said. “But from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, FMCSA over a five-year period has $3.2 billion.”
For those unfamiliar with the organization’s grant process technical assistance website can inform applicants with tutorials, videos and examples, Nemons said. The application deadline is April 19.
This year, FMCSA has more than $180 million total grant, Deputy Administrator Sue Lawless told MATS, speaking with Nemons and others from the agency. Other grants largely serve schools, nonprofit organizations, and local, state, and tribal governments in safety, education, and technology initiatives.
“We want to make the most of our funding,” he said.