The U.S. Department of Transportation Awards Long Beach City College more than $211,000 to Train Veterans for Transportation Jobs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Long Beach, CA – Long Beach City College (LBCC) was awarded a $211,733 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to train veterans and military families for jobs in transportation.
“Long Beach City College’s dedication to serving the economic development needs of the region is exemplified by the Department of Transportation’s grant to meet the workforce needs of our nation,” said Lou Anne Bynum, Executive Vice President of College Advancement and Economic Development. “We are committed to training veterans and their spouses to meet the demands of the commercial trucking industry, including transportation to and from the Port of Long Beach – the second busiest container port in the U.S.”
LBCC’s specialized workforce training program will help to address the shortage of licensed, short-haul truck drivers that are qualified to safely transport goods in and out of the local ports by recruiting and retaining veterans and their families, ensuring both the sustenance of the industry and the workforce development of veterans and military families. This is especially important considering the 36% traffic incident rate along Interstate 710 – the largest transportation artery for the region serving the largest ports in the world – and the 18% veterans’ unemployment rate, which is the highest unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans.
Due to changes in state and federal regulations, the local trucking industry has experienced a drop of over 7,000 skilled and qualified drivers in 2012 alone, crippling an already thin industry workforce. To address this workforce gap, Long Beach City College and HTA will continue to join forces in the implementation of a new model of training, recruiting and professionalizing the industry to encourage a steady stream of new workforce entrants, including veterans and their families.
“I applaud the Department of Transportation’s commitment to providing workforce pathways for our veterans and families to civilian life and jobs,” said LBCC Superintendent-President Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “Having served four years in the U.S. Army, I understand the necessity of directly linking the needs of our veterans with the economic needs of our region. Our College is honored to be the bridge of these two needs with this grant.”
LBCC recently graduated the first cohort of students from the Harbor Trucking Association (HTA) Commercial Driver Training through the Chancellor’s Office Job Development Incentive grant. The federal CMVOST grant will allow LBCC to leverage the funding award to expand the existing driver training program to more directly support veterans.
Through the Department of Transportation’s Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training (CMVOST) grant and the Chancellor’s Office Job Development Incentive grant, LBCC’s Commercial Driver Training Program will train and certify 162 commercial licensed vehicle operators, 60 of these drivers being veterans and their spouses. The training will take place over a two-year period with the goal of reaching an 80% immediate employment rate for all students who complete the program.
About Long Beach City College
Long Beach City College is one of the largest single college districts in the California Community College System. LBCC is a comprehensive college which provides quality educational programs and related student services to nearly 30,000 students pursuing a wide range of degrees, certificates, transfer and other courses of study. LBCC is a driving force in the regional economy as lead host of the Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Center Network, serving Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties; and, as the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative site serving Southern California. In 2012, LBCC supported small businesses in creating 2,736 new jobs, increasing client sales by more than $133 million and helping clients access more than $83 million in new capital. LBCC’s economic activity generates over $2.12 million daily in the region’s economy. The College is also in the middle of a $700 million construction bond program that was approved by local voters.
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