Board aims to recruit, retain female drivers
Attracting females to the trucking industry is only half the battle. Making the job attractive enough for them to stay is another hurdle.
The Women of Trucking Advisory Board focused on recruitment and retention at its June 29 meeting. The board, which was mandated by Congress in the 2021 infrastructure law, is tasked with making recommendations to FMCSA on how to improve the industry for females.
Driver recruitment
In terms of recruitment, a number of ideas were suggested, including increased marketing and awareness campaigns. The board suggested that changing the image of “what a trucker is” and giving a face to the industry could help encourage a more diverse group to consider trucking.
The board also suggested increasing awareness among women who are active military or veterans – a group that has industry-related skills and a high retention rate.
Additionally, the board discussed the use of apprenticeship programs to encourage recruiting. Nicole Ward, co-founder of the African American Women in Trucking Association, suggested an “ROTC style” introductory program for high school students.
Driver retention
Retention is an area that WOTAB chair and OOIDA senior member Joyce Brenny says trucking is “definitely failing as an industry.”
Brenny, the president and CEO of St. Joseph, Minn.-based Brenny Transportation Inc., says she takes an approach to recruiting that keeps retention in mind. She says that keeping drivers in the industry starts with a clear understanding of what the job entails.
“I get really tired of this fluffy, pie-in-the-sky, ‘see the country’ mentality, when it’s a real job with real expectations and real sacrifices,” she said.
Kellylynn McLaughlin, a driver for Clean Harbors and an OOIDA member, says that removing the trucking industry’s overtime exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act could go a long way.
“It was created in the 1930s. It’s out of date for us, and we need to not be exempt from that anymore as an industry,” she said. “It’s really hard to encourage people to enter the industry and stay in when they find out they don’t get paid for all their time.” LL