meanwhile drivers are in high demand here particularly ones with commercial driver's licenses or CDLs as New Jersey's reputation as a warehouse State expands and the need to fill those jobs increases the Department of Transportation recently cut the ribbon on its new Transportation training facility in Bordentown it's a state-of-the-art site that'll include specialized labs and Equipment helping trainees get the hands-on experience they need before hitting the road Melissa Rose Cooper reports taught here will directly impact motorists through it because excellence in training translate to it translates to expertise and efficiency on the job the New Jersey Department of Transportation is taking steps to make sure its employees have the necessary tools to get their jobs done this complex in Bordentown once owned by the state department of military and Veterans Affairs is now home to the agency's new state-of-the-art training facility dot officials cutting the ribbon in celebration of its Grand debut it's a personal accomplishment I've been working out for seven years assistant assistance and support Andrew tonight it's a finally said they become a reality will be a useful resource for workers throughout their career with the DLT new employees come here before they actually are assigned to a crew they get the basics in safety they get the basics in how to operate some of the equipment safely and effectively before they go to a crew at different points in their career they come back for more advanced training whether it be more advanced equipment training all the way up to supervisors to learn how to be an effective supervisor do a lot of the administrative work that they're not used to officials say the facility will also be a big help for drivers looking to get commercial driver's licenses the site has full motion CDL truck simulators and real traffic signal control cabinets the mock Highway we are standing on is quite unique there are only a few like it in the country as you can see it features a signalized intersection crosswalks overhead signs and a railroad grade crossing to present our trainees with the conditions and structures they will counter in the field instead of having to do all their learning on active roadways with cars and trucks speeding past trainees can Master their skills in a controlled environment while also being taught work Zone safety the facility comes as CDL drivers are in high demand according to the U.S Bureau and Labor Statistics 1 in 15 jobs in the Garden State are in the trucking industry last year the MVC issued more than 21 000 CDLs roughly 12 percent more than the yearly average before the pandemic we've had a shortage in the industry Nationwide for drivers in New Jersey's not alone in that we've had a lot of senior drivers retiring and we're not getting as many new faces in the industry Gail Toth is the executive director of the New Jersey motor Truck Association she says the trucking industry is down by roughly eighty thousand drivers which can lead to supply chain issues especially since New Jersey is a big Warehouse State many of the warehouses are Regional warehouses so they're servicing the region uh you know the Mid-Atlantic States uh nearby us and and of course because of our Port um that that increases the need uh where the Freight's coming in overseas it comes into New Jersey goes into warehouses and then gets just redistributed elsewhere and and also in New Jersey too but also within the region dot officials are hoping a facility like this can put more CDL drivers on the road if we do what we're doing today consistently we'll Elevate New Jersey Department of Transportation to a leading Department of Transportation in the country we want to lead the way we want to make sure that we serve the people of New Jersey at all levels so this facility will also be an opportunity for counties and municipalities to come out here and train with us an initiative the dot says will continue to transform and Elevate future Generations in the transportation industry for years to come for NJ Spotlight News I'm Melissa Rose Cooper [Music]