Robert Battle has a job because of a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Battle, a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves, was one of several dozen students who participated in a truck-driving course at Tidewater Community College in January 2015.

He was one of the 98 percent in the program who passed the course, and he was rewarded with his first trucking job just a few days after completing the course.

Trucking is a growing employment sector, especially in Hampton Roads, where the Port of Virginia continues to experience rapid growth and where the warehousing and distribution sector shows no sign of slowing its own quick pace of growth.

The TCC trucking program, which operates from the community college’s former Suffolk campus, is a good option for anyone looking for a stable career, and the college’s grant makes it an especially good option for veterans and their spouses.

The grant, put in place by the college’s Center for Military and Veterans Education, provides free training for veterans and their spouses in one of the region’s most in-demand industries. Students who are not veterans or spouses pay $2,900 per student, which includes books, equipment and other materials.

The savings can be a good incentive for military families wondering what’s next after leaving the military.