Gov. Evers, DWD Award $250,000 in Commercial Driver Training Grants, Bolstering Statewide Driver Workforce

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), today announced nine businesses and organizations in eight Wisconsin counties across the state will collectively receive $250,000 in commercial driver training grants. These grants are part of the Commercial Driver Training Grant program and work to support businesses and organizations that offer training for trainees to obtain their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) with the goal of bolstering Wisconsin’s driving workforce, such as school bus drivers, truck drivers, delivery drivers, and more. This round of grant awards will help 190 trainees obtain a CDL and grow their earning potential, all while helping to meet the demands for one of the state’s most in-demand occupations.

“Whether it’s getting our kids to and from school safely or transporting goods across the state, our state’s drivers are a critical component of Wisconsin’s thriving 21st-century economy and workforce, and ensuring more folks can get the training they need to bolster this fast-growing occupation is essential,” said Gov. Evers. “I’m proud we could secure these grants in our bipartisan budget and are getting them out the door to businesses and organizations in our state that are working to offer the critical training tools folks need so that we can continue to grow this vital workforce.”

Administered by DWD’s Office of Skills Development, these grants help businesses, schools, and other Wisconsin-based organizations develop innovative local and regional solutions that meet area workforce needs. There are currently more than 500 job postings that require a CDL on the Job Center of Wisconsin website, and approximately 6,000 of these positions are posted annually.

The 2025-27 Biennial Budget signed by Gov. Evers last summer provided $500,000 over the biennium for the Commercial Driver Training Grant program and extended the program through June 30, 2027. The Commercial Driver Training Grant program reimburses the cost of training students for a CDL with awards of $10,000 to $30,000 and can be used to offset 50 percent of the training costs for each trainee, or $3,000, whichever is less. More information about the grant program is available on DWD’s website here.

“There continues to be high demand for skilled drivers to fill positions across our state to safely transport goods, deliver products, and drive us to work and kids to school,” said DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek. “These Commercial Driver’s License training grants will help meet an important demand to bolster our workforce. The grants reflect Gov. Evers’ priority to ensure our workforce is ready to meet the needs of the 21st Century by reducing barriers to work and making smart investments in the future of the workforce.”

The $250,000 in CDL grant awards support the following training programs:

Badger CDL LLC | $29,295
Badger CDL LLC in Milwaukee County received grant funding to provide Class A CDL training for 10 individuals.

Chippewa Valley Technical College Foundation Inc. | $30,000
The Chippewa Valley Technical College Foundation in Eau Claire County received grant funding to train 30 individuals.

Fox Valley Technical College | $28,983
Fox Valley Technical College in Outagamie County received grant funding to provide Class A CDL training for 28 individuals.

Future Logistics and CDL Training LLC | $16,728
Future Logistics and CDL Training LLC in Milwaukee County received grant funding to provide Class A CDL training for seven individuals.

Lakeshore Technical College | $24,994
Lakeshore Technical College in Manitowoc County received grant funding to provide Class A or Class B CDL training and CDL theory for 12 individuals.

Northcentral Technical College | $30,000
Northcentral Technical College in Marathon County received grant funding to provide Class A CDL training for 30 individuals.

Northwood Technical College | $30,000
Northwood Technical College in Barron County received grant funding to provide Class A or Class B CDL training for 26 individuals.

Waukesha County Area Technical College District | $30,000
Waukesha County Area Technical College District in Waukesha County received grant funding to provide Class A CDL training through a nine-credit Truck Driving Short Term Technical Diploma program for 36 students.

Wisconsin Operating Engineers Skill and Apprenticeship Fund | $30,000
The Wisconsin Operating Engineers Skill and Apprenticeship Fund in Waushara County received grant funding to provide Class A CDL training for 11 individuals.

Interested businesses are encouraged to learn more about other worker training programs available through DWD’s Office of Skill Development, including the Wisconsin Fast Forward grant program. Individuals interested in a professional truck driver career can find more information on the Job Center of Wisconsin website and CDL Apprenticeship opportunities.

EVERS ADMINISTRATION’S EFFORTS TO BOLSTER THE WORKFORCE AND REDUCE BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT

This announcement also comes as, earlier this month, Gov. Evers delivered his 2026 State of the State address, where he highlighted several of his and his administration’s efforts to bolster the state’s workforce. Namely, Gov. Evers celebrated that for the fourth year in a row, Wisconsin’s Registered Apprenticeship program set a new record high of 18,524 apprentices enrolled and more than 3,095 employers participating in the program in 2025. Additionally, during his address, Gov. Evers also highlighted new efforts by the Evers Administration to address the state’s generational workforce challenges and build a workforce prepared to meet the needs of a 21st-century economy. This includes launching:

• Two new registered apprenticeship pathways for high-demand fields, including the state’s healthcare and education workforces;
• The new Wisconsin Training for Resilient Advanced Industry Needs (WisTRAIN) employer grant program to deliver employer-driven, occupational skills training focused on advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence; and
• The first round of funding through the newly created Ignite Wisconsin program, which aims to make strategic investments that will advance startup companies in targeted sectors with high growth potential.

Gov. Evers declared 2024 the Year of the Worker in Wisconsin to highlight the need to address the state’s generational workforce challenges and promote new efforts by the Evers Administration to build a workforce prepared to meet the needs of a 21st-century economy. This included launching the state’s first teacher apprenticeship pilot program, creating the Governor’s Task Force on the Healthcare Workforce and the Governor’s Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence, establishing the Office of Employee Engagement and Retention for the state of Wisconsin workforce, and more.

The Evers Administration’s efforts to bolster the state’s workforce and ensure it can meet the needs of a 21st-century economy are also evident through the workforce accomplishments the state has celebrated in recent years, including capping off 2024 with nine counties showing the lowest rates of unemployment on record, as well as the state seeing seven consecutive months of record-high employment—a record that was only later to be beaten again in January 2025.

But Gov. Evers’ efforts to bolster Wisconsin’s workforce have extended well beyond 2024 the Year of the Worker. In 2021, Gov. Evers launched the state’s Workforce Solutions Initiative, which works to connect unemployed or underemployed workers with new opportunities while also incentivizing innovative solutions to regional workforce challenges. Included in Gov. Evers’ Workforce Solutions Initiative were three innovative programs: the Workforce Innovation Grant Program, the Workforce Advancement Initiative, and the Worker Connection Program. To date, programs included in the governor’s Workforce Solutions Initiative have collectively served 127,775 Wisconsinites across the state.

Of the 127,775 Wisconsinites served by the Wisconsin Solutions Initiative, 118,000 of those workers were helped through the Workforce Innovation Grant Program. Grants were awarded to support projects across the state that seek to address key regional workforce challenges across the state, including barriers to entry, career training, child care, skills training, entrepreneurship, health services, housing, transportation, and more. Through the program, 195 childcare slots were created, 165 housing units were constructed, over 2,550 businesses were served, and 185,000 workers received rides to get to and from work.

Similarly, participants served through the Workforce Advancement Initiative benefit from a continuum of services, including paid work experience opportunities to develop and/or enhance job skills; training so participants can acquire occupational skills connected to in-demand jobs along with critical work-based skills needed to succeed; on-the-job training opportunities that will lead to economic self-sufficiency; and supportive services to address related barriers to employment, which may include assistance for child care, housing, transportation, and worker stipends. Through these efforts, 5,579 individuals have been helped.

Gov. Evers has also made supporting Wisconsin’s current and future workforce a centerpiece of every budget he has introduced as governor, including his most recent 2025-27 Executive Budget. While the final 2025-27 Biennial Budget was a far cry from the budget the governor proposed, in July, the governor signed a budget that made important investments to support Wisconsin’s current and future workforce. This included critical investments in the University of Wisconsin and Technical College systems, as well as over $6 million to support the Youth Apprenticeship Program. More information on those investments is available here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.