Joliet Junior College is one of six colleges across the nation to be awarded grant money from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to help train veterans and military families for jobs in the transportation industry. The $176,427 grant is part of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training (CMVOST) grant program.

“As a designated military friendly school serving an area with more than 35,000 veterans, JJC is the ideal college to receive this grant,” said Director of Corporate and Community Services Amy Murphy. “We were thrilled to get it and we are well positioned to use this grant to help local veterans and their family members get the training and job placement assistance they need.”

JJC’s “Driving America: One Veteran at a Time” project will provide Commercial Driver’s License training to 50 veterans and/or their military families as well as job placement assistance. The project is designed to recruit veterans and/or their military family to begin a truck driving career, and is designed for individuals with little or no commercial driving experience.

Participants will receive all training and prerequisite tests and endorsements to receive a Commercial Driver’s License. In addition, the program includes the Secretary of State administered Class A road test.

In late 2012, Murphy and Grant Writer Kelly Larson decided to apply for the grant when it became available, knowing that not only would it help JJC serve local veterans but that it could also help meet the growing demand for qualified workers in the transportation industry in the region.

According to the Will County Center for Economic Development, “With its concentration of transportation assets, industrial base and growing distribution function, Will County has taken shape as an Inland Port in the past decade. Not unlike traditional coastal ports, Will County facilitates the movement of freight on a large scale. Growth in freight capacity has established Will County as an important link in global supply chains and elevated Will County’s role in the regional economy.”

The program can be completed in four weeks, and will take place at the Joliet Junior College Weitendorf Agricultural Education Center, 17840 Laraway Road, Joliet.

For more information or to apply, contact Amy Murphy at amurphy@jjc.edu or (815) 280-1418. More details about the grant schedule will be available shortly.

To learn more about JJC’s CDL program, visit: www.trainingupdate.org/seminars/Pages/CommercialDriversLicenseTraining.aspx

To learn more about JJC’s veteran services, visit: www.jjc.edu/services-for-students/paying-for-college/financial-aid/Pages/veterans.aspx