Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/472327
VOICES 4 | Overdrive | March 2015 T hough there are plenty of examples of men and women in their 20s jumping into trucking full-bore and staying there, research continues to show the demographics among drivers shifting to the older side. This drives no shortage of talk of just where the next generation of drivers will orig- inate. Responding to the question in the title, Bruce Jenkins, working in safety at a mid-sized carrier, wrote his prescription for the industry that readers responded to in droves. "We are a generation of leisure," he wrote, with answers at the ready to most any question at the click of a button. All the same, few truly understand the role trucking plays in the consumption economy in which the generation was raised. "We grew up being told to go to college," he recalls, warned that without a college diploma, "you cannot be successful." Trucking was considered an inferior career path, full of hard work that no one wants to do, noted Jenkins. He off ered the following points on what it would take to "get our generation to want to be truck drivers." Competition. You are not just com- peting with other trucking compa- nies; you are competing with every job obtainable by a potential employ- ee with the same skill level. Advertising. Our generation does not know anything at all about truck driving – not its requirements, life- style or importance. Advertising that you need truck drivers with CDLA or military experience will make anyone under 30 years old pass by. My generation does not know what "dedicated miles" and "home time" mean. Most ads cater to drivers that are already drivers. If I didn't have the confi dence that I have, I would look at these signs and ads and see "you cannot do this." Money. We are all in debt. Or just fl at-out poor. Cents per mile doesn't mean anything to us. If I see "50 cents per mile," all I can think is how much I have to drive and the equa- tion I have to do in my head to know how much money I can make. If I see $1,000 a week, I'm ready to get dirty. – Bruce Jenkins Read more of and weigh in on Jenkins' pre- scriptions for CDL instruction, benefi ts, image, recruiting, technology and more. Visit Overdri- veOnline.com and search "Bruce Jenkins." " In my opinion, the trucking industry is very far behind the times on many levels, and this makes this industry very unattractive to the younger generation. … As sad as it is, I believe [Jenkins is] right on, and maybe it will get out to companies and help wake a few of them up and lead to some industry changes. " — Craig McCue, owner-operator, Sasquatch HI-MT Water Inc. WHY AREN'T 20-SOMETHINGS INTERESTED IN TRUCK DRIVING?