{"id":207238,"date":"2024-12-04T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2024-12-04T18:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=207238"},"modified":"2024-12-03T23:38:27","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T09:38:27","slug":"bus-driver-training-leeward-cc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/12\/04\/bus-driver-training-leeward-cc\/","title":{"rendered":"Bus driver training at Leeward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> addresses critical shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> &lt; 1<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minute<\/span><\/span><figure id=\"attachment_207290\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-207290\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/leeward-cdl-bus-drivers-2.jpg\" alt=\"Three people in front of a school bus\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-207290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/leeward-cdl-bus-drivers-2.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/leeward-cdl-bus-drivers-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/leeward-cdl-bus-drivers-2-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-207290\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Instructor Ray Santiago, Coordinator Mike Scully, Fleet Manager Mark Agmata (Ground Transport)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Leeward Community College is tackling <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span>\u2019s pressing bus driver shortage with the introduction of a new Bus Driver Training class, set to launch on January 13, 2025. The program is part of the college\u2019s expansive Commercial Driver\u2019s License (<abbr>CDL<\/abbr>) training initiatives, designed to address workforce gaps across the state.<\/p>\n<p>The 80-hour Bus Driver Training class equips participants with the skills needed to obtain a <abbr>CDL<\/abbr> and pursue careers as professional drivers. Applicants must have their <a href=\"https:\/\/www8.honolulu.gov\/csd\/commercial-driver-licensing-office\/\"><abbr>CDL<\/abbr> School Bus permit<\/a> prior to registration.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.leeward.hawaii.edu\/cmvschoolbus\">Learn more about the Leeward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> program and register online<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Tackling a severe shortage<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_207291\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-207291\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/leeward-cdl-bus-drivers-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Person seated in a driving simulator\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-207291\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/leeward-cdl-bus-drivers-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/leeward-cdl-bus-drivers-1-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/leeward-cdl-bus-drivers-1.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-207291\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leeward <abbr>CC<\/abbr>\u02bbs commercial truck driving simulator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span>\u2019s Department of Education has faced a severe school bus driver shortage, which led to route suspensions impacting more than 3,700 students statewide during the last school year. The department has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaiipublicschools.org\/ConnectWithUs\/MediaRoom\/PressReleases\/Pages\/Governor-extends-emergency-proclamation-to-address-school-bus-driver-shortage-and-ensure-student-transportation.aspx\">reinstating bus routes<\/a> during the current school year, and needs 87 additional drivers.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;By expanding our <abbr>CDL<\/abbr> training programs, we\u2019re not only helping alleviate the immediate bus driver shortage but also supporting <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span>\u2019s broader economic recovery and workforce needs,&rdquo; said Michael Scully, Leeward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> commercial driver training coordinator.<\/p>\n<p>Leeward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> is committed to providing practical workforce solutions while strengthening ties with community and industry stakeholders. The new driver training program, supported by industry partnerships, includes a donated training bus from Ground Transport Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new bus driver training class begins on January 13 at Leeward <abbr>CC<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[1525,65,603],"class_list":["post-207238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-commercial-motor-vehicle-program","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-workforce-development","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207238"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207294,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207238\/revisions\/207294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}