Chase Pitre wanted a better way to support his family. He’s a husband-to-be and the father of a 2-year old.
So he signed up for Stark State College’s commercial driver’s license program.
Upon completing the five-week course, Pitre was hired at Marathon, where, for the past two and a half months, he’s transported crude oil across Ohio and into West Virginia. He said he more than doubled his previous salary working in emergency medical services.
He was hired at $32.25 an hour.
“This program gave me opportunities I didn’t know were possible,” said Pitre, who is from Carrollton, a rural community about an hour southeast of Akron.
Since 2019, Stark State has licensed more than 1,250 drivers like Pitre. And it’s boasted a 95% passing rate since its 2013 inception. Leaders at this public community college hope they can provide even more students with the opportunity to earn their Class A and Class B CDLs now that the school is breaking ground this month at a new facility.
“The new CDL Instruction Center will enhance the College’s ability to prepare students for high-demand careers in transportation and logistics, with the aim that it will also support our efforts to recruit new additional students to help meet local workforce needs,” said Collyn Floyd, director of marketing and public relations at Stark State College.
The new-look facility was supported by a $875,000 grant secured earlier this year.
Demand for CDL-credentialed drivers is on the rise
The demand for CDL drivers has expanded across the United States and is expected to grow by another 4% by 2034. Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate more than 237,600 CDL-credentialed openings annually — approximately 3.5 percent of those openings (8,470, according to job boards like ZipRecruiter) are filled by Ohioans coming out of programs such as the one at Stark State, with an average annual salary of $58,000.
With Northeast Ohio accounting for 3,000 of Ohio’s CDL jobs every year, Stark State leadership felt it was time to expand. The current facility has one classroom, which accommodates approximately 30 students in the middle of the building, flanked by tiny office nooks for two or three instructors. The new facility gives everyone more breathing room and eases the flow of instruction.
Pitre spent last Thursday at his old mobile classroom, discussing opportunities the program gave him. He also thanked Sen. Jon Husted — he visited an ongoing class to speak with students about the importance of trucking jobs — for helping secure the grant for the new building. Even though he will not attend classes in the new facility, Pitre said he is incredibly thankful for the donation and is excited to see the opportunities it will offer new students — opportunities just like the ones he has been rewarded with.
“I am so excited to see what this donation is going to cause here; it’s going to completely change how people access this program,” Pitre said.
“These instructors are some of the nicest people on the planet, and this will make the already-seamless experience even more seamless.”
Senator Husted visits to commemorate grant
During Husted’s visit, Stark State President Para Jones thanked him and the GAR Foundation for contributing to the new facility, which breaks ground next month.
The GAR Foundation was created by Galen J. Roush, who co-founded Roadway Express in Akron in 1939. Husted also advocated for the use of federal Pell grants to help lower-income students access workforce education.
“We need to use Pell for the workforce, not just for college, because especially if you’re low-income, you can’t afford to wait for work,” Husted said. “You need a job now.”
