Truck driving course offered free of charge to area fathers

By TAYLOR BROWN

tbrown@yourmvi.com

Fathers from the Mon Valley will have a free opportunity to hit the road and change careers after a few weeks spent in the classroom. 

Thanks to funding provided by the Federal Fatherhood Program through the Department of Health and Human Services, dads in Westmoreland, Washington, Fayette and Beaver counties will be able to train and receive a commercial driver’s license.

Those who complete the program can get behind the wheel to fill one of many open positions throughout the region through a partnership with Douglas Education Center and the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland County.

Sean Sypolt, vice president of business services at the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette Inc., said the program’s first cycle was completed 18 months ago and helped 32 fathers find successful careers. 

The investment for the first cycle, about $200,000, turned into $1.4 million in newly created income for area fathers. 

“It’s just incredible,” Sypolt said. 

The new cycle received $880,000 to work with, which allowed the program to expand to include more counties.

“We are hoping to more than double what we did in the first cycle,” Sypolt said. “The average entry wage for these positions is $52,000, that is as soon as they get out of school. That is pretty significant for someone who was previously making $10 or $12 an hour. 

“The retention we had in the first cycle, and that investment, has trickled down into our communities. Not only creating sustainable, well-paying jobs for these fathers but also trickling down to community revitalization, taxes being paid and more job creation that we probably don’t even know about.”

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Tuesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.