Looking around the trucking industry at large, and all the companies within it, it’s easy to see the ‘drivers’ that move us forward – via the economy, supply and demand, and people. But what about the ‘drivers’ that set us back? The roles that need to be filled, people who need employment, and businesses that are operating with empty shelves?

To keep operations running and people in the driver’s seat, we need to capitalize on the labor shortage by creating opportunities for employment, growth and advancement in the industry that we know and love.

At the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Association (CCMTA)’s 2023 annual meeting, a group of panelists – including Craig Faucette, chief program officer of Trucking HR Canada, and I – gathered to discuss these factors, stemming from our industry’s labor shortage, and the options and possibilities that are available to turn this challenge into an opportunity. 

Negative industry perceptions

One challenge that feeds into the labor shortage is the perceived notion of the transportation industry being low-skilled, a job of last resort, or unsafe.

These negative perceptions create barriers for people to enter the industry and, ironically, our industry doesn’t do a good enough job to dispel this perception. As an association, company or driver, we all need to do our part to promote our industry in a positive light and provide incentives for new drivers to join our community.

These incentives include pay and benefit packages, pension plans and a dedicated work/life balance that ensures drivers come home at night. This is one area where private fleets excel, compared to some others in the industry.

The turnover rate for drivers – especially longhaul ones – is over 90%. To compare via the 2023 PMTC Benchmarking Report, private fleets have a turnover rate of 9.7%.

If only one out of 10 are leaving, versus nine out of 10, company turnover is more manageable. In saying this, and all the advantages that private fleets have, 94% of the people that were surveyed said that obtaining the drivers they do have is a top challenge. Even with all the benefits private fleets have, 94 out of 100 people’s number-one challenge is attracting drivers.

Celebrate your team

This is one area where employers can capitalize on this challenge and turn it into an opportunity: celebrate your team via internal and external marketing and communications.

For example, the PMTC Driver Hall of Fame represents a long line of professional drivers who have gone above and beyond for their company and communities they serve. Their stories of professionalism, incident-free driving, volunteerism, mentorship, commitment to their communities, and love for families are inspirational, come from the heart, and align with our industry’s core values.

Promoting your Hall of Fame drivers will help shift the perception of the industry. If someone’s been with your company for 20, 30 or 40-plus years, you all are doing something right, and so is your company. That’s the type of story that needs to be told, so people understand the opportunities that are available in the industry and with your company.

Another approach is celebrating the diversity of your team, each person’s role, and the opportunities to join them in your company. Marketing these opportunities and showcasing the roles, opportunities – and the fact this industry isn’t ‘low-skill’ – will help attract people to work in the industry (and bonus, for you!)

Costs to become a driver

The next challenge revolves around the financial obligation to become a professional driver for the transportation industry. The cost to obtain your Class A or 1 licence ranges from $10,000 to $15,000, depending on which province you’re in. This creates another barrier against people who may consider a career in the transportation industry.

Trucking HR Canada, in partnership with the PMTC and other key industry stakeholders, offers the Career ExpressWay Program: where interested candidates and employers are supported in their joint venture toward a successful career in the transportation industry.

Under the Career ExpressWay Program, candidates can apply for funding toward their commercial vehicle licence and be connected to an employer. Their new employer can also apply for funding toward onboarding costs, including on-the-job training, up to $10,000.

At the CCMTA’s 2023 Annual Meeting, Faucette shared that this program is funded through the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program (SWSP) via the Government of Canada:

“We’ve seen a lot of success with this Program,” he said. “One of the benefits we’ve seen is that the [Career ExpressWay Program] has helped us diversify our workforce. Right now, women only make up 4.2% of all truck drivers in Canada. In this program, about 7.4% of all participants of the truck driving program are women. Already, we’re almost doubling the number of females compared to the industry average.”

Another benefit is that this program is breaking down barriers for candidates that represent a younger demographic. Faucette explained that the transportation industry is ‘older’, that many professional drivers are reaching (or at the point of) retirement, and generally has had a difficult time attracting a younger workforce:

“In the Career ExpressWay program, 8.1% of our workers are 25 years of age, while 28% are 30 or younger. This program presents as a good opportunity to bring younger people into the industry in a way that hasn’t happened before.”

Hiring foreign workers

To aid with the labor shortage, the transportation industry has programs and opportunities available to attract and hire foreign workers. The challenge here is ensuring that your business is structured to support the worker – and their family – in the long term.

These shortages aren’t temporary. Therefore, employers need to be safe, compliant, and offer the proper infrastructure for foreign workers and their families to secure long-term employment and growth.

With that in mind, if you hope to attract foreign workers, set up the proper infrastructure to support them within the company and throughout the community. These individuals are integrating their entire families into the country. Show them their new surroundings – where the grocery stores and banks are – and how to find a doctor. Otherwise, these workers are negatively introduced to industry; they’re improperly trained, affecting the safety to them and other motorists; and will leave the industry, which feeds into our labor shortage and negative perception of the industry.

This challenge presents an opportunity for employers to take a close look at their current operating systems and standards. Take the time to review your onboarding practices, safety policies and procedures, turnover and incident rates, and see what areas your company can repair and improve upon. This exercise will positively serve you and your team in the long term and nurture a safe, healthy work environment for all.

Connecting with youth

Another ongoing challenge is attracting young workers who will grow with your company and within the industry for the long term. To influence younger audiences to consider a career in the transportation industry, employers need to take the time to connect with them at job fairs and via school presentations.

Taking the time to connect with younger audiences could in the long run transform the landscape of the transportation industry.

If we want to gain younger people in our industry, we – as an association, companies, and drivers – need to attend career job fairs and speak to the schools. Take the time to connect with students in Grades 7-10 and talk about job opportunities. If you wait too long, they’ll have made up their mind and know where they’re going. For the good of the industry, we need to plant the seed early on and showcase the value of our industry in their minds.

There are many factors that contribute to the labor shortage and so many others that can remedy it. Together, as an industry, we have the capacity to turn these challenges into opportunities that will benefit one another and the industry we share and love.