Fayetteville Technical Community College is building a new facility to train truck drivers and mechanics to meet a growing demand in the transportation industry.
The first phase of development of the college’s Truck Training Center includes the construction of a 13-acre driving pad, along with infrastructure such as parking facilities, sidewalks and stormwater controls, said Catherine Pritchard, FTCC spokeswoman. She said the estimated cost of the project is $19.6 million, with $10.8 million allocated for Phase 1, and $8.8 million for Phase 2. Phase 2 includes the construction of a classroom facility, lab space, a service bay and an office building.
“This facility will more than double our training capacity, allowing us to accommodate around 250 students per year,” Pritchard said.
She said the college anticipates that Phase 1 will take eight months to complete and hopes to have the phase completed by October 2025.
FTCC’s truck training center
Pritchard said the new training center is expected to have a significant impact on the local economy and job market. She said that FTCC has been training students in these skills since 2016 and that currently, FTCC trains approximately 75 to 100 students annually, with a hire rate of over 90% for graduates. She said the addition of the facility comes as the U.S. faces a shortage of 80,000 to 100,000 over-the-road drivers each year.