Lake-Sumter State College recently dedicated its Commercial Driver Training Center in Sumter County. This new training site at LSSC’s Sumter Center will provide training and state-approved testing for Class A and B commercial driver licenses.
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) says the current driver shortage is 80,000 – an all-time high. The ATA estimates that nationwide the industry will have to recruit nearly one million new drivers over the next decade to keep up with demand.
Since opening last year, LSSC’s training center has licensed nearly 300 students. The center is currently enrolling its maximum of 12 new students per week with interested students currently on a waiting list.
“It seems you can’t drive anywhere without seeing a sign saying ‘CDL drivers wanted’,” says Dr. Laura Byrd, SVP Institutional Advancement at Lake-Sumter State College. “Particularly in our region, rapid growth and development is driving demand for commercial drivers across a wide variety of industries.”
“Since we opened CDL training center, we have seen strong interest from not only students in Central Florida but also from across the state of Florida,” said Greg Jones, director of corporate training & continuing education at LSSC. “Thanks to our training partnership with Sunstate CDL, we are able to continue increasing our training capacity at the center in Sumterville.”
The Commercial Driver training program was created with the help of a Rapid Credentialing Grant from Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education. In addition, Elite Construction of Ocala and CEMEX provided significant in-kind support for the project.
“We are thankful to each of the supporters of the equipment and development necessary to make the Commercial Driver Training Center a reality,” said Dr. Byrd. “Their assistance enables Lake-Sumter State College to meet a critical workforce need in our community.”
