NASHVILLE — Citing a critical need for additional truck drivers to transport goods and products, the Tennessee Board of Regents, Gov. Bill Lee and state lawmakers have teamed up to promote driver-training programs at the state’s colleges of applied technology.
“In Tennessee, we recognize that the trucking industry is a key part of our state’s economic growth and success,” Lee said in a video that’s part of the outreach effort. “And we’ve worked hard to support the trucking industry in recent years to ensure that companies and Tennesseans have the resources needed to thrive by reducing burdensome regulations on the industry, increasing training opportunities, promoting collaboration between our state’s (colleges) and the Department of Safety and businesses.”
The governor said acting this year in partnership with the General Assembly, the state has launched the “Trucking Tennessee Campaign” to strengthen and increase the state’s trucking workforce to continue support for what he called an important industry.
(READ MORE: These trucking and logistics companies have Chattanooga roots)
“(Colleges) across our state are now making it easier than ever for drivers to become certified,” Lee said in the spot, citing the Tennessee Promise Scholarship Program and Tennessee Reconnect, which provides last-dollar scholarships to adults attending community colleges.