Peninsula College will begin Commercial Driver’s License training Sept. 9 in Forks. The program also provides enrollees with job placement assistance, according to Phyllis Van Holland, college spokesman.

Peninsula College and the Commercial Driver School are partnering to provide a four-week CDL-Class A training for individuals who are preparing for the Washington State Commercial Driver tests to drive tractor/trailers.

Students will meet daily during the four-week training period, which includes one week of classroom instruction and three weeks of driving. The training will include lectures, hands-on demonstrations, videos and practice tests.

The first week of class will be at Peninsula College’s Forks Extension Site at 71 S. Forks Ave. in Forks.

During the final three weeks, students will drive in a controlled environment and learn the basics of inspecting a commercial vehicle.

Trucks will be stationed in both Port Angeles and Forks.

As shifting abilities progress in the controlled environment, students will move on to road driving and additional road challenges.

Tuition and fees for the class are $5,700, which covers all costs associated with drug testing, a Department of Transportation physical, books and supplies, driving permit, licensing fee and other miscellaneous expenses.

Students must take a drug test and complete a physical prior to being admitted into the class.

Peninsula College has offered CDL training for the past five years and more than 80 percent of its graduates are placed in jobs within a matter of a few weeks, Van Holland said.

Bob Lawrence-Markarian, executive director of Community and Business Education at Peninsula College, says the training is being offered because both short- and long-haul truck driving has changed dramatically in the past few years.

“Due to the shortage of drivers, many companies have become more driver-friendly, offering shorter hauls that result in more time at home with family, as well as competitive wage and benefits packages,” he says. “Many drivers also now take advantage of the new high tech truck stops and enroll in college courses over the Internet. Some drivers who are also artists arrange their hauls to coincide with art festivals throughout the country.”

For more information contact Nicole Volkmann, Program Assistant, at 360-417-6335 or nvolkmann@pencol.edu.