Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/592176
is isn't just a women problem though. is is a workforce problem. e U.S. workforce is growing, but just barely. is decade will have the slowest growth of the workforce in the last 60 years and without any signicant changes to policies such as immigration, welfare, and disability, next decade will be even slower (see chart). is means that not only will it be harder to recruit drivers, but it will be harder to recruit to all positions within a company: sales, technical, technicians, marketing, accounting, and just about every other eld. Companies are expected to grow at "double digits" for them to be deemed successful. How can they do that without a workforce to help them get there? e answer is simple, technology. Companies will be forced to become ever more ecient through the use of automation, data analysis, and process eciencies to be able to provide the growth that the investors demand with the limited work force that is available. So called "third world" countries have experienced a boom in recent years because of large growing labor pools that do not exist in so called "developed" countries. We are pushing new boundaries with technology here at the Internet Truckstop Group to help, but we can't clone people to put into the driver's seat! So to the millions of truck drivers out there, we say "THANK YOU!" To the women of transportation who are leaving the traditional world and joining the truck driving workforce, we bid you welcome and we are glad you are here! And from every eet and recruiter in North America we ask, "Do you have a friend who is interested in becoming a driver?" T here is a constant cry about the driver shortage in the United States. To help ll driver seats, the industry has turned toward becoming more female friendly. In 2009 the number of women drivers was 5.2 percent according to the Census Bureau. In 2014, the Department of Labor reported that 5.8 percent of "Driver/ sales workers and truck drivers" were women. Source: http://www.dol.gov/ wb/stats/Nontraditional%20Occupations.pdf. Trucking has lagged similar industries such as pilots (7.8 percent) in attracting women into their seats. Changes in technology have been a big driver in making trucking more female friendly. Also, truck driving job Web sites and recruitment practices have been changed to try and attract more women into truck driving jobs. ese are all important things because the number of women in the work force is growing faster than the number of men (see chart). DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND? "CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY HAVE BEEN A BIG DRIVER IN MAKING TRUCKING MORE FEMALE FRIENDLY." FROM THE DESK OF SCOTT "" "Do you have a friend who is interested in becoming a driver?" Scott Moscrip, CEO 4 IT MAGAZINE Vo l . 9 , N o . 6