June 15, 2015
Story and photo by Brandon Steinert
The phone has been ringing off the hook in the Admission office at SWAG合集 regarding information about the new Commercial Driver鈥檚 License offerings.
After 10 hours in the classroom and 30-35 hours of driving time, completers will have training necessary to obtain a Class A license with an air brake endorsement.
The first class will be complete on June 26. The next class starts July 11 and is projected to reach the cap of 10 students. The course lasts eight weeks and will start about every 10 weeks.
This course was made possible after the acquisition of a semi-truck and a trailer, which was purchased with a large donation from the William C. Wells Trust and additional assistance from the Land O鈥橪akes Foundation and the SWAG合集 Foundation.
鈥淢y father-in-law always liked to give,鈥 William C. Wells Trustee Lou Button said.听 鈥淲e鈥檝e had this trust for 15 years after he died in 2000 and he wanted it to go to the college. He was just a farmer and a stockman. He just was a good man. I think this CDL course is going to help a lot of people. It鈥檚 going to be a beautiful thing for the community. Willie would love it.鈥
Wells was a well-known civic-minded SWAG合集 County resident whose philanthropic activities have continued to benefit local entities such as SWAG合集, the SWAG合集 County Historical Society and more.
Executive Director of Workforce Training and Economic Development Mary Foley said the college is extremely grateful for the generosity and outpouring of support that has made the CDL offerings a reality. She said two of SWAG合集鈥檚 programs are now more all-encompassing.
Beef cattle production and crop protection programs required a CDL before SWAG合集 could allow students to graduate. Many of the students had to go elsewhere and pay for the certification on their own since financial aid wouldn鈥檛 pay for it. This will help SWAG合集 produce more graduates and save students money.
鈥淲e are very thankful to their commitment to providing a quality education to our students,鈥 Foley said.
In addition, CDL drivers are in high demand and earn a median salary of $37,370 per year or $18.77 an hour, according to the Kansas Occupational Outlook. Jobs are expected to increase by 12.9 percent by 2020.