Clarkston, GA September 15, 2023 – The momentum is building for Georgia Piedmont Technical College to educate and train the state’s logistics and transportation workforce. GPTC has been awarded $81,000 in federal grant monies earmarked for students enrolled in the college’s commercial truck driving program. The funds will provide scholarships for tuition and gap funding assistance for students in the credit, adult education and economic development CDL programs. According to the grant application, eligible students will receive up to $4,500 in tuition assistance with the target groups being underserved students and refugees who may not otherwise be able to afford the program.
Selina James is the lead instructor for Georgia Piedmont’s CDL program; she calls the funding a game-changer.
“Just knowing our students will have one less obstacle to overcome makes a huge difference,” James said. “If the financial end of the process is handled, my students can better focus on their training and successfully finishing the program so they may provide a better life for themselves and their loved ones.”
In addition to the scholarship funding, GPTC will provide support services like job placement assistance to the student recipients.
GPTC President Dr. Tavarez Holston said, “By increasing the number of underserved and refugee students, we are doing our part to help diversify the workforce in the burgeoning transportation and logistics industry. We are creating opportunities for people of all backgrounds to thrive in this critical sector of the economy.”
This grant comes on the heels of the college’s August 30 groundbreaking ceremony for its future $12M Regional Transportation Training Center in Stonecrest. Once completed in fall of 2024, Georgia Piedmont will be able to train twice the number of drivers it can currently, in addition to providing space and resources for three additional programs (civil engineering, logistics and diesel) that will serve a projected 600-800 students per term.
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