Lake-Sumter State College will open a new training site in the City of Eustis for Commercial Driver (CDL) and lineworker training programs.
The four-acre site is located on County Road 44, just east of the intersection with State Road 19 in North Eustis. This land was donated to LSSC by the City of Eustis.
“Lake-Sumter State College is excited to open a new instructional site in Eustis for our CDL and Lineworker programs,” said Dr. Heather Bigard, president of Lake-Sumter State College. “We are also very appreciative of the support from the staff and commission at the City of Eustis to make this happen. Rapid growth and development across our region are driving demand for commercial drivers in many industries. We are proud to be able to expand to meet this workforce demand by training students and helping connect them with employers.”
LSSC plans to open the new location in late summer 2023 after developing the vacant land. When operational, the additional site will allow LSSC to double its enrollment in the CDL and Lineworker programs.
At the Sumter Center location, the CDL program currently serves approximately 400 students annually. The Lineworker program serves approximately 100 students each year.
Amid a nationwide trucker shortage, demand for commercial drivers continues to grow locally. In fact, on the day the city donated the land to the College, there were over 3,000 job openings for CDL drivers within 50 miles of the College’s new training site.
The utility industry continues to experience strong demand for lineworkers as significant numbers of current workers reach retirement age. Students who enroll in the LSSC program benefit from an industry-aligned curriculum that seamlessly integrates with the utility’s onboarding programs to reduce on-the-job training time in the new position.
“This is truly an exciting moment for both the City of Eustis and Lake-Sumter State College,” says Emily Lee, vice mayor of the City of Eustis and member of the LSSC District Board of Trustees. “I know firsthand the positive impacts that LSSC has on students in this community, and I’m proud to have been part of bringing them into Eustis to support our residents and the City’s plan to redevelop the downtown area.”
Additional information on the opening of this new instructional site will be announced in 2023.
