“Hidden Talents Project” turning refugees into truck drivers 

A $1.6 million grant aimed at giving refugees a chance at job training is currently paying for trucking school for six Afghan and Somali refugees in Wisconsin. 

The grant from the Department of Workforce Development is called the “Hidden Talents Project” and is aimed at training refugees for high-demand industries, including the trucking industry. With the help of the grant. Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin is currently training six Afghan and Somali refugees to be commercial truck drivers, reported Fox 11.

“If you are interested and you have passion for that you are very good because this is my really passionate something I want to do in my life,” said Asha Hirsi, a refugee turned trucking student. 

“I have a passion for this and it comes from I don’t know where,” said Hirsi. “From the heart.”

“We know that there’s a worker quantity shortage due to low birth rates, accelerated retirement, and net zero to negative migration to the state of Wisconsin. So we’re really focused on helping those individuals in the state who still want to enter the workforce and fill those vacancies,” said Secretary Designee Amy Pechacek of the Department of Workforce Development.