Motor carriers are finding themselves grappling with more than one employment squeeze. On one side of the spectrum they are still trying to find enough truck drivers to fill their cabs and on the other side they are trying to find enough technicians to fill their shops. And with the problem compounding by the day, it is a not-so-secret problem that every motor carrier struggles with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
[wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, according to the TechForce Foundation<\/a>, nearly\n300,000 new diesel technicians will be needed over the next decade. Do the math\nand that amounts to 30,000 per year. The TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit\nthat works to raise awareness about potential tech careers among school-age\nstudents. Big trucking companies, such as Penske Truck, are partnering with the\nTechForce Foundation to bring aboard the vast numbers of technicians they will\nneed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider that the profession of diesel technician ranks 208th<\/sup>\non the list of college or university majors supported by Federal Funding, and\nit isn\u2019t difficult to see where the problem lies. Even more, across the United\nStates, there are only 173 colleges that offer courses in diesel technology. Of\nthe colleges that do, enrollments are relatively small compared to industry\nneed. Most classes that graduate students out of a diesel technology program\nonly graduate 20 students. Many students may drop out before the end of the\nprogram due to either time, cost, or interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many programs are also not prepared to train their students\non the technologies that are currently built into modern diesel engines. With\nnew onboard safety technologies, computers, and a we of interconnected\ntechnologies all snaking their way through a big rig, trade schools need to\nstay at the front of the technological\nbell curve<\/a> and many simply aren\u2019t doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Organizations like the TechForce Foundation exist to combat\nthese problems and help fulfill a need in this low unemployment environment.\nPositions across the fleet spectrum are harder than ever to fill. Also consider\nthat trucking companies are not the only entities who require the expertise\nthat a diesel technician brings to the table. The diesel technician shortage\nrepresents a larger problem facing companies: A decline in the skilled trades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Long-term Shifts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n With such a competitive employment market, students are\ncoming out of high school and choosing employment options that often don\u2019t\ninclude a look at the trades. Long-term cultural and demographic shifts result\nin students looking on working in a fleet shop less appealing. Many of the\nVocational\/Technical schools that used to prepare students for these careers\nhave slowly been disappearing across the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There has been an education gap. Diesel technicians suffer\nfrom an image problem. Potential employees must be educated regarding what type\nof job this has turned into. Being a diesel technician is no longer a dirty,\ngreasy, un-sexy job. In many cases, modern diesel technician works with a\ncomputer far more often than they work with a wrench. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even more, motor carriers have been investing quite a bit\ninto their shops. Whether it be better lighting, climate control, or advanced\nmachinery, diesel technicians can expect a lot more from their fleets today\nthan they might have even a decade ago. A lot of this is driven from the simple\nfact that modern trucks are a lot more complex today than they were a decade or\nmore ago. Fleets must make investments that emphasize user uptime and answering\ncomplexity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By highlighting the technical aspect of the job, high-school aged job applicants consider these positions less of something dirty and unglamorous and something more akin to a job of the future. With demographic shifts, fleets must also adjust who they are targeting. There has been a huge push to reach out more to women truck drivers, but what about women diesel technicians?<\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trucking companies<\/a> and organizations are also targeting military veterans transitioning back into the civilian workforce. Vets with GI Bill benefits can also gain access to the training necessary to ensure they get a position in a fleet shop. In other cases, military veterans may already have the training they need to work on diesel engines coming out of the service. With just a little tweaking to account for the particular technology they are working on, these servicemen and women are the perfect fit to help fill the gaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another group trying to make inroads in impacting the\ntechnician shortage is the National\nTransportation Center,<\/a> a group dedicated to helping fleets attract, train\nand retain necessary workers, whether they be truck drivers or diesel\ntechnicians. One of the main problems the NTC hopes to address is a matter of\noutreach. Historically, the transportation sector has had a poor record\nhighlighting itself to young people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Attempting to address this challenge, the NTC holds boot\ncamps at FedEx Express Maintenance facilities. These boot camps, aimed at\nhigh-school aged kids, walk kids through the maintenance facility and hosts\ntechnicians who talk to the kids about potential career opportunities. More\nimportantly, they talk to the kids about not just a career job, but a career\nlattice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many students looking into potential fleet jobs may not\nrealizing that diesel technicians go through rungs of their career. There are\nentry-, mid-, and master-level technicians, with each rung carrying with it a\ncertain pay raise and benefits level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the NTC boot camps, students are also taught that there\nare ways to advance into different departments while staying in the maintenance\nfield. They could go on to become trainers or even managers. The point is that\nthere are many different tracks that diesel technicians can go on, besides just\nbeing a technician. There is a process for advancement and promotion and\nunderstanding this helps in both the recruiting and retaining efforts. In many\nfleets, vice presidents and members of upper management started at the bottom\nand grew with the company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From Recruiting to\nTraining<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have got a young person\u2019s interest and they sign up\nto enter the technician pipeline, the next step is evaluating how you will\napproach training. Some fleets are approaching the training expense paradigm by\nestablishing tax-free educational assistance programs. They are helping\nstudents who choose to attend trade schools to become technicians by covering\nbooks and materials costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While some students can choose to enter a secondary tech\nschool, not everyone goes that route. Others can decide to enter the workforce\nstraight away. When trade schools and trucking companies partner with high\nschools, they can put programs in place that shepherd freshman and junior\nstudents through cooperative education programs. These programs allow students\nto get the training they need while also getting paid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Naturally, upon graduating, many of the students within\nthese programs go on to full-time employment with the company they had been\ntraining with while in school. These types of programs provide not only a way\nfor students to make some money, but it also instills them with a sense of\npride and motivation, setting them up to enter their full-time job ready to go.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fleets are also doing more than just offering support and\nfunding, they are also developing industry and school partnerships that include\nthings like T-shirts, educational materials, banners, workshops, and more.\nCurrent technicians also go into schools and provide mentorship to kids in the\npipeline, providing a first-hand look at what one can expect out of the job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n OEMs are also getting in on the game, with companies like\nCummins offering the Technical Education for Communities (TEC) program. The TEC\nprogram is designed to work with high schools to offer on-site education and\nenrollment classes for students. Students who enroll in the TEC program learn\nthe skills necessary to work on and maintain diesel engines and can either earn\na certificate to immediately enter the workforce upon graduating or receive\ntransfer credits for entry into a technical college. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trucking industry trade groups such as the ATA are also creating their own programs. Through their Technology & Maintenance Council, the ATA is developing a formal apprenticeship program for individuals looking to begin their career in a diesel technician program. The program works in concert with the Expanding Apprenticeships in America executive order signed by President Trump in 2017. [wp_ad_camp_2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n With recognition that this needs to be addressed from the\nindustry, advocacy, and political spectrum, both the Department of Labor and\nstates are getting in on the action. The DOL runs a Registered Apprenticeship\nProgram, though this program has not been able to keep up with the demand\nrequired by the trucking industry. As with many government programs,\nbureaucratic red tape and administrative hang ups hamper what would otherwise\nbe a far more effective program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n