Carriers are in a pickle when it comes to dealing with the
shortage of qualified drivers. Simply put, it’s a job that fewer people are
interested in taking up. It’s not seen as a viable career choice due to the
lifestyle issues. This is especially true in the category of long haul full
truckload work. It’s very difficult to find any hard numbers but it’s accepted
in the industry that about half of the people that obtain a class A (class 1)
licence don’t last beyond the first year. Carriers must also deal with the fact
that half of the current drivers will reach retirement age in the next 10-15
years.
Over the past couple of years there has been a focus on
attracting more women to the industry. Women are mobilizing and organizing
themselves. That is resulting in a recognition of the need for professional
training & mentoring programs, health & wellness programs, safe havens
for parking, and clean accessible washroom facilities suitable for all drivers.
This is also fueling a push to change the public image of the trucking industry
and show it in a more positive light. These efforts are attracting new blood to
the industry but it may be too little too late.
The problem is we don’t know where we are headed when it
comes to what a driver’s job will look like over the course of a 40 year
career. This is a result of the technology boom. It is not simply about when or
if fully autonomous trucks will make their debut. If you are looking to choose
a career at 21-25 years old why would you choose the trucking industry? I hate
to admit this but I would not recommend it to my grandchildren as it stands
today. Trucking as an entrepreneurial pathway to independence was a big
attraction in the past but the industry is consolidating into fewer and larger
global players. Finding a niche to compete in as an independent trucker is
becoming difficult if not impossible.
With that consolidation comes a high degree of control over
what happens in the cab of a truck. One of the greatest attractions to driving
a commercial vehicle in the past was the freedom a driver experienced on the
road. You were very much your own boss, even as an employee. Many drivers now
find their time managed by the home office even to the point of having to
travel specific routes at specific times. Drivers are finding themselves on a
leash as a result of how technology is being employed and many drivers don’t
care for it. It is not an attractive recruiting tool.
Maybe I’m out to lunch on this whole issue. Working as a
long haul driver where I am now I continue to experience a feeling of
empowerment and control over my life. I’m made to feel an important part of the
team because my voice, my concerns, matter. It’s not that I can do whatever I
want, it’s that I maintain control over my day, the equipment I operate, and
the responsibility of delivering on time is my own. Most of all this puts my
personal safety in my own hands. That’s incredibly important.
The advice I offer to the industry is to make sure every
driver has the ability to contribute and share their experience. There needs to
be a bottom up approach to problem solving and implementing technology in
meaningful ways that advance a drivers quality of life AND advance
productivity. We need a universal system of training and recognition to level
the playing field for drivers and carriers alike. Yesterday’s pathway into the
trucking industry for new drivers was through ownership. Today’s pathway for
new driver’s needs to be through professional accreditation. The same way we do
it in the front office.
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