Southwest Truck Driver Training Joins Other CDL Schools to Advocate for Students in Career Training
This March, nearly 30 representatives from CDL training schools from all across our nation convened in Washington, DC, to sit down with approximately 60 members of Congress and their staff. Among the participants was Southwest Truck Driver Training’s president, Sean Williams.
The group visiting Capitol Hill advocated for policies to help improve accessibility of truck driver training. Among other topics, Williams and the other truck driver school representatives emphasized the importance of:
- Entry-level driver training (ELDT) legislation that went into effect to bring greater safety to the commercial driving industry
- Additional funding and benefits for veterans aspiring to CDL jobs, because of the strong fit in skills and capabilities of veterans for the trucking industry
- A bipartisan bill that would allow families to apply college savings plan savings to career training programs, to allow more funding availability for individuals who want to enter trade careers such as CDL driving
- Reauthorization and reform of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) program, which provides grant funding through local agencies for adult employment and training such as CDL training
Williams, who made the trek to Washington from Phoenix, emphasized the importance of meeting with policymakers and staff in person to help support this critically important sector of the U.S. economy.
“For us it’s really meeting with our representatives, and getting to start a relationship, foster a relationship, or expand and continue a relationship,” Williams said of the set of meetings, which was organized by the Commercial Vehicle Training Association, a group of truck driver schools.
View the full video on LinkedIn
