The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced almost $1 million in new grants to help train veterans and military families for jobs in the transportation industry. The grants were awarded to six colleges across the country as part of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training (CMVOST) grant program.

“The least we can do for the men and women who put their lives on the line for our country is to help ensure they can find good jobs when they leave the service,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx. “The transportation industry provides a unique opportunity for military families and veterans to utilize skills they developed in the service, and we hope these grants will lead to more veterans joining the ranks of our country’s commercial vehicle drivers.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists commercial trucking as a high-demand job, with more than 300,000 additional positions expected by 2020.

In May 2011, the FMCSA finalized its commercial learner's permit rule, which gives state driver licensing agencies the authority to waive the skills test portion of the commercial driver’s license test if the applicant demonstrates two years of safe driving experience in military equivalents of commercial motor vehicles.