Making roadways safer for drivers by giving technicians the training they need
Across many industries around the world, labor shortages continue to be a challenge for employers—including commercial trucking. According to the American Journal of Transportation (AJOT), the United States had a truck driver shortage of over 80,000 CDL truck drivers in 2023, and that the problem could worsen to a shortage of 160,000 truck drivers by 2030.
Why is there a truck driver shortage?
There’s simply a large amount of demand for truck drivers right now as almost all businesses are using trucking services more—but it’s a bit more complicated than that. There are many more older truck drivers than younger ones, and they’re beginning to retire. However, they’re not being replaced quickly enough as there’s not enough new, younger truck drivers entering the field.
And when newer drivers enter the workforce, it’s vital to have experienced drivers pass on their knowledge and set them up for success. Positive safety culture comes from truck driving veterans, passing the torch to those who are looking for guidance and peer support.
That’s why it’s hugely important to provide your technicians and truck drivers with the training and equipment that can help position your business to thrive in the months and years ahead. This will help propagate that positive safety culture. According to the AJOT study, offering new benefits and improving working conditions will go a long way to helping retain and hire truck drivers.
Improving our industry through better training
Driving a truck is a huge responsibility and requires proper skills and expert knowledge—and keeping those trucks in top working condition goes a long way to help keep them safe on the job. When the technicians taking care of their trucks are properly trained and parts are correctly installed, it improves conditions for truck drivers and gives them one less thing to stress out about.
In other words, proper training is imperative to establishing a positive safety culture.
That’s why STEMCO offers dedicated on-site training and support services to ensure your technicians know proper installation techniques and achieve official certification. Plus, we can also show you the value of professionally engineered, carefully tested, and thoroughly reliable truck and trailer components. Proper training helps you better protect your fleet, truck drivers, and payload—ensuring safety on the roads for all.
If an in-person training session doesn’t work for you, we have other solutions. STEMCO University, an exclusive online training portal, offers a virtual way to experience our in-person training. Technicians can watch videos, take corresponding quizzes, and obtain official certificates of completion from anywhere. There’s also STEMCO LIVE, our interactive app where technicians can dive into immersive augmented reality training and information for STEMCO products on a mobile device or tablet. Both solutions are designed to provide on-demand training that works with any schedule.
The truck driver shortage is probably going to take years to fix, but it all starts when those of us in the industry try to create a more positive culture of safety for our drivers. When you’re ready to train your crew on how to install and maintain industry-leading truck parts to keep your drivers safe, contact a STEMCO sales representative to get the ball moving.
