CDL Training Awaits State OK

CREST HAVEN – Jobs are available for drivers with a CDL (commercial driver’s license), but there apparently aren’t enough qualified individuals to meet the need. For that reason, county officials decided to help by offering a CDL-training course that would provide jobs and fill the need for local businesses and county government.  
On Feb. 7, an advertisement was placed in the Herald that announced the joint program between the county Department of Fare Free Transportation and the Technical High School.
The ad stated qualified students would receive classroom and practical instruction that would end in earning a state-standard, Class B CDL with passenger endorsement.
It also stated “successful candidates will be offered a paid part-time summer job with the Cape May County Fare Free Transportation Department, with the potential for full-time employment.” Application deadline was Feb. 15.
Freeholder E. Marie Hayes, board liaison with Fare Free Transportation, said, in a March 29 telephone interview that program should be operational this month with course completion before Memorial Day.
Dr. Nancy Hudanich, superintendent of the county Technical School District, spoke briefly about the program at the Cape May County League of Municipalities meeting March 22. She indicated that a problem had arisen with the state Department of Labor, which was expected to be rectified shortly to permit the program.
Hayes said Hudanich was instrumental in securing an $86,000 grant through the state Department of Labor for the program. She also said Atlantic City Electric has advanced some funds for the program.
The program will be administered by the Technical School in conjunction with the Workforce Development Board Cumberland/Salem of which Cape May County is a member.
Hayes said there had been a “tremendous amount of response” to the Feb. 7 ad for CDL training.
Hayes said when the idea was first proposed to train those seeking a CDL, “We didn’t think it was that big a deal.”
On the contrary, the program needed state certification, which slowed its momentum.
However, working with the Cumberland County Technical Education Center, which has needed certification for CDL training, the Cape May County Technical School linked.
For the first year of the program, the CDL training will be from the Cumberland County School, which will travel to the Cape May County Technical School’s Swainton campus for classroom instruction. Road training will likely take place at the Cape May County Airport where Fare Free Transportation is headquartered.
The county’s Fare Free Transportation has an ongoing need for drivers with various CDL endorsements.
Hayes said it was initially envisioned that the department would do the CDL training, but then learned it could not since it did not possess the educational certification.
A check of the county’s website March 30 found a part-time position in Fare Free Transportation for a driver with CDL Class B passenger endorsement.
Hayes said a seasonal Fare Free Transportation driver with CDL credentials is envisioned, at the outset, in evenings from the southern mainland to island communities for workers who do not possess transportation. If that program proves a success, it may be expanded.
She noted that County Chamber of Commerce President Vicki Clark had been working to create such a ride-to-work program to bolster job opportunities as well as to satisfy seasonal employers’ needs.
Hayes cited the need for CDL drivers in school districts for buses and vans as well as for businesses that deliver goods, such as fuel, oil, and propane companies.