Oregon Workforce Partnership Partners Receive $3.4M to Address Truck Driver Shortage, Providing Free CDL Training to Hundreds

Oregon Workforce Partnership celebrates a significant milestone in addressing the critical shortage of truck drivers with the allocation of a $3.4 million grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA)’s Good Jobs Challenge.

Under the initiative named Driving Prosperity, led by Southwestern Oregon Workforce Investment Board in collaboration with Lane Workforce Partnership and Rogue Workforce Partnership, over 325 individuals will have successfully obtained their Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs). This initiative has significantly improved the long-term employment outlook for Oregonians by offering free CDL training. As a result, these trained drivers have secured lucrative positions, effectively mitigating the state’s shortage of truck drivers.

The $3.4 million was a portion of The American Rescue Plan’s EDA Good Jobs Challenge, which distributed $500 million in grants to 32 worker-centered, industry-led workforce training partnerships. These grants aimed to accelerate economic recovery, broaden opportunity, and facilitate innovative approaches to localized, industry-led, worker-centered training programs.

“Here in Tyree, for instance, 10 percent of our workforce by this June will be represented through the Good Jobs grant. That’s pretty significant from a CDL driving perspective,” said Billy Dover, Director of Operations Lubricant for Tyree Oil.

“In the wake of the pandemic, there was such a shift in how we received our goods and services. We had such turmoil in the workforce in every capacity. Finding that footing again, this year, was part of that solution.”

– Georgia Conrad, Executive Director, Oregon Workforce Partnership

Without funding from The American Rescue Plan EDA Good Jobs Challenge, participants would see high out-of-pocket costs to obtain their CDL license. “Four to eight weeks of schooling; and the cost to attend the schooling is about $5,000, in addition to the living costs that people have to pay for while they’re undergoing training,” said Conrad.

“It’s pretty amazing to be a five-foot-tall woman hauling 80,000 pounds to a work site,” said Amanda Larson, who earned her CDL through the program. I feel extremely confident since getting my CDL because I did something I never thought was possible, and then I ended up coming out on top.”

“About two years ago, I came to Oregon to find some more opportunity,” said Joe of Chuck Bracelin Trucking. “I found the program, and I found this job. In one month, I make about as much as I would in a year at my previous jobs. It’s on another level.”

Driving Prosperity participants can enter the trucking industry in just four weeks, gaining access to competitive wages, comprehensive benefits including paid sick time and vacation leave, 401(k) retirement plans, and medical, dental, and vision coverage.

“Through the Good Jobs Challenge and with the partnership between Oregon Workforce Partnership, it just gives us an opportunity to really elevate that work. It gives employers a chance to understand what the common needs are now for the emerging workforce and understand better recruitment and retention practices across the industry. It really does create that access to those jobs. And so, they do see a more skilled workforce coming to them and feeling like they are supported in bringing people that maybe wouldn’t see themselves in this career, really acclimate themselves and find a place of belonging.”

– Ashley Espinoza, Executive Director, Lane Workforce Partnership

Oregon Workforce Partnership is dedicated to the ongoing success of Oregonians and the advancement of Oregon’s workforce ecosystem. By doing so, it cultivates vibrant communities for residents and facilitates access to meaningful employment opportunities that contribute to both the local and national economy.

About Oregon Workforce Partnership
Oregon Workforce Partnership (OWP) is comprised of over 200 community leaders representing business, education, workforce, and elected officials from Oregon’s nine Local Workforce Development areas. These nine areas support locally-driven decisions and programs. Oregon has an integrated one-stop service delivery built on a standardized model to provide a flexible, unified workforce education and training system that consistently exceeds customer expectations. Both state and local workforce boards are committed to keeping Oregon business and industry competitive in the global economy.