Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/591405
T he trucking industry has exhausted plenty of time discussing the tech shortage over the last several years. On September 23, fi ve active technicians spoke at the Technology and Maintenance Council's (TMC) Fall Meeting in Orlando. The panel was quizzed on why they entered the industry, what motivates them to suc- ceed and mostly importantly, how to recruit their counterparts for similar positions. The fi ve technicians were open and candid with their responses. Some technicians, such as 2013 and 2014 SuperTech Champion Mark McLean, said they gravitated to a technical career thanks to a lifelong love of machines. The techs said they love working on their own cars, trucks, lawnmowers, "anything they could get their hands on," and wanted to be able to do that as a profession. Others, such as FutureTech contestant Paul Moore from Mid Florida Tech, shifted careers into trucking when previous plans went array. "I had a degree in applied mathemat- ics and couldn't fi nd a job," he says. Once enrolled in training programs, the panel says their interest and commitment to trucking quickly continued to grow. "I loved every second of it," said Karl Kerutis, a recent WyoTech graduate who fi nished third in this year's FutureTech contest, and is now working at a Volvo- Mack dealership in South Dakota. They looked for similar levels of en- thusiasm when choosing their employer. Kerutis and last year's FutureTech Champ Gunnar Lueck said they were courted by fl eets and dealers when BEST 22 www.FlatbedTruckingJobs.com November 2015 Trucking's technician shortage: Young techs talk how fl eets can better recruit them PRACTICES by Lucas Deal