Specifications include, but are not limited to: The primary purpose of this program is to prepare unemployed, underemployed, minorities, women, and other economically disadvantaged individuals for meaningful employment opportunities in the transportation industry. These opportunities will include employment on highway and bridge construction projects, as well as the commercial trucking industry. Preference will be given to individuals that are unemployed and reside within Laurens and Spartanburg Counties. The secondary purpose of this program is to assist contractors in meeting the requirements for minority and women participation on construction projects. Contractors have often expressed difficulty in recruiting minorities and women for construction related jobs. Therefore, a segment of this program is devoted to recruiting and providing pre-employment training as a means of increasing the number of minority and women employees in the transportation industry. In order to achieve these goals, three components are included in this program: (1) Pre-employment training for highway construction workers, (2) Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Training (Permit Only) and (3) Heavy Equipment Operator Training.