The Clarksville Montgomery County Industrial Development Board (IDB) in Tennessee has embarked on a forward-thinking venture in alliance with the Clarksville Montgomery County School System (CMCSS). They will be working to afford high school students the opportunity to obtain CDL-A training and licensing through a Career Technical Education (CTE) program headed by the Armored Trucking Academy.
The IDB secured $100,000 via a TVA Economic Development Workforce Invest grant. These funds will be used to aid 25 CMCSS students across the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years in achieving their CDL-A. Matching the requirement of this grant, the IDB contributes an in-kind lease of 1490 Dunlop Lane to Armored Trucking Academy for the duration of the project. This refreshing initiative ensures that the students and the CMCSS bear zero cost towards this CDL-A training.
Who qualifies for the program? Senior year high school students who are eighteen years old studying in any of the CMCSS’s eight traditional high schools. Once these bright students graduate from the program, they will have garnered a CDL-A Certification and learned industry-specific soft skills, equipment-specific training, and associated software. What’s more, the program is designed to groom students to tackle careers as industrial truck and tractor operators, light truck drivers, regional CDL-A truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, and delivery drivers.
The trucking industry is the lifeblood of supply chains. Without truck drivers, there are sure to be interruptions, and the average age of individuals in this profession is currently 45. The trade is in dire need of an injection of young, energetic talent to counteract the industry’s aging workforce. Graduates of the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System who enroll in and complete this program represent the breath of fresh air this vital trade needs. That was shared by Chris Self, the Director of Workforce Development at the Clarksville Montgomery County Industrial Development Board.
According to Dr. Dayna Paine, CMCSS Career, and Technical Education Director, this partnership with the IDB and Armored Trucking Academy to create the program offers students of Clarksville-Montgomery County an opportunity to master essential skills needed for high demand, high-skill jobs straight from industry professionals. By bagging a CDL-A while still in high school, there will be numerous career opportunities advantageous to the students. They will literally drive the trajectory of their future.
TVA Economic Development is a firm believer in community support, and Workforce Invest offers an avenue for investing in programs that cater to specific workforce and educational requirements at local levels. They empower current and future labor forces with specialized training to meet industry demand. They are proud to foster their support for the Clarksville Montgomery County Industrial Development Board’s CDL-A Training Program, said John Bradley, the Senior Vice President of Economic Development for TVA.
The Industrial Development Board operates with a mission of facilitating community growth. They carry this out through the pursuit and attraction of good-paying jobs and industry to Clarksville Montgomery County. The board congregates every second Wednesday of each month. All meetings are public and notices of such are displayed at the Economic Development Council office, City Hall, and the Montgomery County Courts Complex.
