DES MOINES, Iowa — There are over three million truck drivers in the U.S. but it’s an industry that constantly has a shortage, including here in Iowa too. DMACC is trying to help with that.

On Thursday, they held a ribbon cutting to introduce the new Albaugh Family Transportation Institute. It’s a $9 million, 8,600-square foot facility. 

The space more than doubles their capacity, allowing 500 students to train a year. This new site includes three classrooms, a two-story inspection bay, student study areas and a 12-acre driving course, plus a motorcycle training center.

“All the graduates we serve will go out into the trucking industry either in Iowa or somewhere in the United States to help with our trucking needs out in society,” DMACC Director of the Transportation Institute Derrick Walker said. 

“There’s a shortage of commercial drivers in Iowa and in the nation,” DMACC President Rob Denson said. “In three weeks, you can go from wherever you are now to making $80,000 to $100,000 in a year for some of these great companies from around the state of Iowa and others.”

Although he spent many years as a lawyer and now a college president, Denson once also drove a truck to make money during college. 

“Behind every CDL, there is a story. You know, single parents who want to start over. Veterans transitioning to civilian life, second chance learners that maybe have had some errors in their lives, but they’re here to make a difference,” Denson said. “The opportunity is here. And in my case, a retired lawyer who wanted to get back in their truck.”

For more information on the CDL training courses, visit DMACC.edu.