The Midland City Council will soon vote on whether or not to approve a proposal to expand Midland College's Transportation Training Program, a recent NewsWest9 report stated.
The expansion will allow more students to graduate from their program, Jennifer Myers, the associate vice president of workforce education at Midland College, said.
“We're hoping to be able to graduate more students for the region," Myers said. "So currently our current capacity we can graduate about 120 students a year. In our current capacity, the addition of trucks and the addition of some scholarship dollars will allow us to serve more students.”
Midland College, the Permian Basin Workforce Development and the Midland Development Corporation agree that the expansion would result in the acceptance of more students into the program and ultimately, onto the road.
“The Transportation Training Program at Midland College prepares students to sit for their CDL (Commercial Driver License) exam for their licensing exam," Myers said. "Once they get their CDL, they can drive all variety of large trucks.”
Students will complete an online course that takes approximately one week, during which they learn about the rules and regulations pertaining to the road. Upon obtaining their license, they drive with an instructor.
“So the next steps would be to purchase a vehicle. We do have to modify the bench seat in the back so that three students can sit in the truck and be instructed," Myers said. "Then the remainder of the money after we purchase a new truck would be would go to our scholarship fund for students.”
Before launching the initiative, all of the agencies’ proposed steps must first receive approval from Midland City Council.
“It's a high-demand occupation right now," Myers said. "A lot of companies, like oilfield companies and beverage companies, anyone who needs a lot of stuff is using these trucks and so the demand for drivers is high.”