CANTON — Due to increased popularity, limited space remains in SUNY Canton's commercial driver's license (CDL) training program. The Career Ready Education and Success Training (CREST) Center is encouraging applicants to sign up early for upcoming classes.

Scheduled start dates for the program are May 13, July 1 and August 26. Each class is limited to four drivers. As a class reaches capacity, drivers can opt to enroll in the next available session.

The six-week program consists of 10 hours of classroom learning from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays in addition to 40 hours of driving experience. Enrollment in each section of the high-quality training is limited to ensure drivers gain the required safety skills. Instructors have adopted COVID-19 prevention strategies for this course.

The college recently purchased a 2013 Freightliner Cascadia 125 to use as a training vehicle, with help from a St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency grant administered by the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency.

Local employers, including Renzi Foodservice, LeBerge and Curtis, Inc., and Cazenovia Equipment Company, Inc., have used the class as a means to recruit and train qualified drivers.

The program has also been approved to allow veterans to use their GI Bill benefits to cover tuition. For more information, including potential tuition assistance and registration details, visit the CREST Center's CDL resource page. To contact the SUNY Canton CREST Center, email crest@canton.edu.