A Project by the Southwestern Oregon Workforce Investment Board (SOWIB)
“more than 82% of individuals who completed the DRIVING PROSPERITY program are employed within the transportation industry.”
About the Good Jobs Challenge
The Good Jobs Challenge (GJC) is designed to get Americans back to work and increase wage growth.
The Good Jobs Challenge brings together employers who have hiring needs with other key entities to provide in-demand skills training that leads to good-paying jobs. EDA recognizes that workforce development is a critical pillar to supporting locally led, innovative, and competitive economic development.
In 2018, the already alarming deficit of 50,800 drivers swelled by more than 10,000 from a year earlier, according to a study by the American Trucking Associations. By 2024, the driver shortage in the trucking industry is estimated to reach 175,000. Oregon and nationwide still has an overwhelming need for qualified Class A CDL drivers.
Collaboration works to address trucker shortage.
The FREE CDL project aims to produce 325 newly licensed truck drivers in two years across six Oregon counties with a 90% success rate. This project will provide 292 individuals with long-term employment and higher wages which will create an economic ripple effect lowering the impact on public resources, improving mental and physical health, reducing medical costs, and adding workers to an industry in need of qualified candidates.
