Gov. Evers, DWD Announce Applications Open for Commercial Driver Training Grants, Encourage Training Providers to Apply

“From transporting essential goods to getting our kids to school safely, this critical workforce is the backbone of our businesses, schools, and communities, and I am proud to have secured funding in the budget to extend this innovative program and help meet the needs of our commercial drivers and training providers alike,” said Gov. Evers. “My administration and I have made it a priority to ensure our workforce is ready to meet the needs of the 21st Century, and our work to bolster our workforce, reduce barriers to work, and make smart investments in key sectors continues in earnest.”

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. The deadline to apply for a Commercial Driver Training Grant is Oct. 28, 2025.

The 2025-27 Biennial Budget, signed by Gov. Evers, 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 here.

“As a leading ‘hot job’ in Wisconsin, there is high demand for skilled drivers to fill positions across our state,” said DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek. “These training grants will help meet workforce demands and provide trainees the opportunity to gain jobs with family-sustaining wages.”

This grant is open to trainers who:

• Are listed on the federal Training Provider Registry;
• Operate in Wisconsin and train Wisconsin residents; and
• Provide training that meets federal Entry-Level Driver Training requirements. 

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  

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. Throughout the Year of the Worker, the Evers Administration highlighted several notable accomplishments, including capping off the year with record enrollment in the state’s Registered Apprenticeship Program, nine counties with the lowest rates of unemployment on record, and seven consecutive months of record-high employment—a record that was only later to be beaten again in January.

Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration’s work to bolster Wisconsin’s workforce continued beyond 2024 the Year of the Worker, and in February, the governor introduced his 2025-27 Executive Budget, which included critical investments to bolster the state’s workforce. This included:  

• Efforts to reduce barriers to work and expand job training opportunities by reestablishing the successful Workforce Innovation Grant Program;
• Grants to local organizations to address local workforce needs and barriers to work;
• Investments in the state’s Registered Apprenticeship Program and Fast Forward workforce training opportunities for in-demand fields, including artificial intelligence, teacher apprenticeships, and green jobs training; and
• Supports to connect workers to jobs, including the highly successful Worker Connection Pilot Program and Youth-to-Registered Apprenticeship supports; and
• Proposals to restore collective bargaining rights and prevailing wage protections, repeal right to work, and bolster protections relating to wage theft, worker misclassification, and project labor agreements; and
• Providing most private sector workers in Wisconsin with paid family and medical leave.

Unfortunately, the state’s Republican-controlled budget committee voted to gut more than 600 proposals, including several of the governor’s workforce-related proposals, from the final budget. But despite this setback, the Evers Administration has championed several wins for Wisconsin’s workforce in 2025.  

In April, the governor announced that for the fourth year in a row, Wisconsin’s Youth Apprenticeship program set a new record high for youth apprentices enrolled during the 2024-2025 school year. Thanks to efforts by the Evers Administration to expand pathways for youth apprenticeship, students can explore an array of pathways in some of the state’s most in-demand fields.

In May, Gov. Evers and DWD highlighted the success of the Evers Administration’s virtual job fairs that were made available to federal workers affected by the Trump Administration’s reckless mass firings. The virtual job fairs focused on eight different high-demand sectors, from healthcare and informational technology to law enforcement, maintenance/mechanical, and engineering, drawing nearly 300 participants.

In June, the governor and DWD also announced nearly $10.3 million in grants to go to regional workforce development organizations across the state through the Worker Advancement Initiative’s (WAI) second round of funding. The WAI was first launched in 2021 as part of the governor’s groundbreaking Workforce Solutions Initiative and funded by the state’s allocation of federal relief funds. In total, projects receiving funding through the second round of the WAI are projected to help more than 1,400 Wisconsinites find or improve their employment through paid work-based learning and classroom training.  

Additionally, 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. The final budget also cut taxes for working families and retirees, helping Wisconsinites keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their wallets. In fact, thanks to the governor’s efforts over the past six years to cut taxes, Wisconsinites are keeping more of their hard-earned income today than at any point in the last 50 years. All told, including the final 2025-27 Biennial Budget signed into law today, Gov. Evers will have enacted $12.6 billion in tax cuts since taking office.