The data shows that an average US citizen is 37 years of age while a professional driver is on average 46. The aging drivers will retire in 20 years or so thus leaving an even bigger vacancy for carriers to fill. What can the industry do to reach out to young adults looking for a career?
I contend that our industry as a whole participates in a comprehensive recruitment of young, military veterans exiting the service and looking for a career. The idea is nothing new as one of the bigger OTR carriers was recruiting in Germany when I was stationed there between 1989-1991. I was impressed then, that a company would travel half way across the globe to recruit military folks. The caliber of young people that the industry would find is second to none. They already know how to work hard and the amount of responsibility these young people have is unparalleled in any profession.
Yes, the big carriers have actively recruited military veterans and I applaud them for that. However, the majority of truck driving jobs are with the rest of the industry that are represented by the smaller carriers. With recent legislation, the "Vow to Hire Heroes Act", has approved tax credits
to companies that hire veterans. It is my hope that the smaller carriers will follow suit and actively recruit military veterans as well.
Many small carriers shy away from unexperienced drivers as they don't have an adequate training program in place. However, with FMCSA's somewhat recent rule change, they're making it easier for veterans who operated heavy trucks in the military to get their CDL's. In May, 2011, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration finalized the Commercial Learner's Permit rule. Within that rule is a provision that gives State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLA) the authority to substitute two years of CMV safe driving experience in military equivalents of commercial motor vehicles, for the skills test portion of the commercial driver license skills test.
Trucking is a tough job and it's not hard for those of us in the trenches to see why there's a driver shortage. However, the caliber of personnel that can be recruited from our nation's military ranks is more than qualified to handle all challenges within our industry. I'm living proof as I left active military service in 1992 and immediately entered the trucking industry and have been here ever since.