TSTC lands nearly $500K grant to train more South Texas truck drivers

Texas State Technical College’s Professional Driving Academy in Harlingen received a $486,023 federal grant to add new equipment and expand training for commercial drivers.

The grant from the Southwest Border Regional Commission will pay for two new semitrucks and a trailer, as well as repairs and structural improvements to the academy’s commercial driver’s license training and testing pad, TSTC announced in a news release Friday.

The Southwest Border Regional Commission is a federal-state partnership created by Congress to promote economic development in communities along the southern border. Its territory includes counties in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

The investment comes as South Texas’ border economy remains heavily dependent on the movement of goods between the United States and Mexico and employers face demand for qualified commercial drivers.

“This initiative stands out to the commission as it addresses the critical shortage of certified commercial drivers across Texas, particularly in Cameron County,” said Gabriela Morales, executive director of the Southwest Border Regional Commission.

Morales said the expansion is expected to strengthen the region’s workforce pipeline, increase job placements in transportation and logistics, and give TSTC additional capacity to provide industry-aligned training.

U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Brownsville, supported the grant and said investment in vocational education is particularly important in a region where international commerce drives demand for transportation workers.

“With these funds from the federal SBRC that I proudly support, TSTC will expand its commercial driving footprint in South Texas and strengthen the talent pipeline of students ready for immediate employment,” Gonzalez said in the news release.

The investment, he added, can help ensure the region remains positioned as “one of the main international hubs for the transportation of goods and commerce.”

More trucks, more training capacity

The new equipment will allow the Professional Driving Academy to accommodate more students and give them greater access to the types of vehicles they will encounter on the job, according to TSTC.

“We can welcome more students and give them better access to the kind of equipment they will use on the job,” said Eduardo Patino, TSTC’s director of professional academies. “It is about improving the student experience so they can train on modern, high-quality vehicles.”

Improvements to the training and testing pad are intended to keep the facility compliant with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration standards while providing a safer environment for hands-on instruction.

The expansion is part of TSTC’s broader effort to train workers for industries seeking employees across South Texas, including a transportation and logistics sector closely tied to the Valley’s cross-border economy.