The first class of students graduated this morning from the new Central Iowa Transportation, Distribution and Logistics (TDL) Academy. Seven men and five women completed the nine-week training course, which includes classroom instruction, worksite visits and workplace simulation to prepare for jobs in the fast-growing logistics, warehouse management and transportation industry. Funded by a $220,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation and Jobs for the Future, the academy was launched this spring to strengthen and expand training for careers in automotive repair and maintenance, commercial truck driving, logistics and warehouse management. Over the next two years, the Central Iowa TDL Academy expects to train 225 individuals, with 150 placed into jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that, over this decade, employment in transportation and warehousing will grow by 20 percent, or 856,000 jobs nationally.