by Noah Maravilla, for KUAM News

The 15 students who completed the bus driving boot camp hosted by the Guam Community College are now employed in the public and private sectors islandwide.

As the tourism industry begins to rise again and local schools start preparations for the next school year, the island will require more bus drivers to support a rise in public transportation.

To get ahead of the curve, Guam Community College is joining the Guam Department of Labor, the Department of Public Works, and Kloppenberg Enterprises Inc. or KEI to hold a Bus Driver Work-Ready Boot Camp, which began in February.

About 15 of the 23 boot camp participants completed the course and all 15 took and passed the Class “D” License exams. A Class “D” License is a chauffeur license that allows a bus operator to transport between 15 and 90 passengers with either a school bus or a tour bus.

After the boot camp, the 15 who completed the course were hired by DPW and KEI. The participants are already earning a paycheck as bus drivers and dispatchers, and those hired by DPW will eventually be transitioned to limited-term employees.

Guam Community College plans to hold a completion ceremony at a future date to celebrate those who achieved the Class “D” License.