BRTC CDL student Cydney Jones
Black River Technical College (BRTC) put 80 new CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) drivers to work in the ten months of the 2022-2023 academic year.
Pocahontas graduated 21 drivers in the fall semester and 23 in the spring semester; totaling 44 new CDL drivers. Paragould graduated 18 drivers in the fall 2022 semester, and 18 in the spring 2023 semester; for a total of 36 new licensed CDL drivers. Bringing the total of new drivers entering the workforce to eighty.
The cost of the course is $3,500. The course is just five weeks long and is offered in both Pocahontas and Paragould.
Recognizing the state and nationwide shortage of commercially licensed truck drivers, BRTC started the first year of its CDL Training Program in the summer of 2020 after receiving a grant from the Delta Regional Authority.
In January of 2021, the college received an additional grant from the Arkansas Office of Skills Development which offered qualified recipients funding to complete the program.
“Often we can help the students offset the price of the course by helping them apply for scholarships,” BRTC Corporate and Community Education Program Specialist Samantha Mitchell said.
Of the 44 graduating CDL drivers from BRTC Pocahontas 40 received grants from the Arkansas Office of Skills Development (OSD) in the amount of $2,700 each; totaling $108,000. Forty-one of the students received Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarships in the amount of $800 each; totaling $32,800.
Students in the program spend the first 40 hours in the classroom preparing for the Commercial Learner’s Permit Exam. After earning a permit, students spend the next four weeks focusing on vehicle inspection, preventative maintenance, and hands-on defensive driving. Students are required to demonstrate proficiency in shifting, backing up, and city and highway driving as required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules and regulations.
For more information about BRTC’s CDL Training Program, contact Patti Blaxton on the Pocahontas campus at (870) 248-4181, or Patricia Sanderson on the Paragould Campus at (870) 239-0969, ext. 5220.