Students graduate from truck driver training

Students from Olympia and Ridgeview high schools have graduated from a program that develops an in-demand job skill courtesy of the Heartland Community College Nussbaum Truck Driver Training Academy.

The first cohort of Bloomington Area Career Center (BACC) students to take the eight-week Truck Driver Training Courses through the Heartland Community College Continuing Education program completed the program this spring.

Jackson Brosmore (Olympia), Zander Burke (Ridgeview), and Chase Ragar (Olympia) successfully completed the program to attain a Class A CDL license.

In 2021, Heartland entered into an agreement with Nussbaum Transportation to form the Nussbaum Trucking Academy at Heartland Community College. In this unique public-private model, HCC’s Continuing Education provides advising and orientation, maintains student records, ensures curriculum and instructional efficacy, and offers Essential Workplace Skills. Nussbaum provides instructors, creates class schedules, and oversees training, trucks, and fuel.

Nussbaum Trucking Academy at HCC is a cohort-based model where students gain 160 hours of preparation for obtaining a Class A Commercial Driver’s License. The coursework includes 40 hours of classroom instruction and 120 hours of behind-the-wheel training to test for a restricted license; an optional additional week will be offered for those wanting to test for an unrestricted license. Heartland offers four-week and eight-week programs for Truck Driver Training.

No previous experience is required, but students must have a current driver's license issued by the State of Illinois, be 18 years or older, and complete and pass the Department of Transportation Physical and Drug screening.

The program is supported by a scholarship from the McLean DeWitt Regional Vocational System. Through this grant, eligible students can receive scholarship funds to attend Truck Driver Training.