By James Sterrett, Commercial Truck Driving Program Manager
For years, there has been a lot of discussion in the transportation industry regarding the shortage of drivers.
Every motor carrier is impacted by this problem and each one of them is working to reverse the driver shortage and make some progress towards building a fleet with the capacity to fulfill the needs of their customers. In addition to the recruitment of experienced drivers, many of them rely upon the truck driving schools to source the drivers needed to fill these needs. This often results in a break-even situation as one company is losing the driver as another gains a driver.
Just recently, it was reported in the Commercial Carrier Journal that turnover was still at 91%. What does this mean? It means that 91% of a driver fleet is lost to attrition due to retirement, safety issues, health issues, productivity, and simply because the driver has lifestyle issues with the job. This is simply not enough to put a significant dent in the problem. We are performing an exercise in futility, trying to fill a “leaky bucket”, and making little or no headway in solving the driver shortage. Sadly enough, for some carriers, the “leak” is larger than the company’s ability to fill it, leaving them with a net loss of drivers and alarming turnover rate.
Can a truck driver training program have a more significant positive impact on the driver shortage? At J-Tech, located in Jacksonville Florida, we think so.
If you believe you are interested in a life on the open road, call us at 877-477-0442. We will discuss with you what life is really like for a driver and whether it is a good fit for your future. There are opportunities out there and J-Tech can help guide you on how to embrace them.