Se Habla Espaņol?
Latinos are an untapped source for driver recruiting. Communication is key.
Recruiting good professional truck drivers has reached a critical point. The typical driver pool of white, Anglo males has been drying up for years.
I've seen more panels, studies, meetings about this problem than I can count.
Leading the charge on the driver recruitment front has been the Truckload Carriers Assn. The Professional Truck Driver Institute, which certifies fleets and truck driver training schools, is under TCA's umbrella. TCA was also creator of the 18-year-old driver pilot program, designed to set up a way to attract young people to truck driving jobs. That program, unfortunately, was shot down.
The big problem has always been this: Young men coming out of high school might be attracted to truck driving, but they can't get trained or get jobs in the industry until they are 24. Most of the good young potential drivers are already firmly ensconced in other careers by the time they come of age.
The driver shortage is not new. But the extent of the problem is increasing quickly and dramatically. TCA estimates a need for about 80,000 new truck drivers each year for at least the next 10 years.
So the industry is striking out in other directions to strengthen its driver ranks. Many are looking to the Hispanic community as the next best source of truckers.
This isn't a new concept. Several years ago, Mike Starnes, former president of M.S. Carriers, started training drivers in Puerto Rico, then giving them jobs with his Mississippi-based fleet.
Looking to the Hispanic community to fill truck seats is likely to increase dramatically. The Hispanic community is the fastest-growing minority in the United States.
According to a white paper, Filling The Gaps In The Road, by Tanette Ledford and Andres Lagueruela, the move to recruit Hispanics has placed greater emphasis on the language barrier.
The white paper cites one driver trainer who says that while most Hispanic driver candidates trained at his school speak English and Spanish, about 20% don't speak English well. And all of them respond better to communications in Spanish, whether verbal or written.
So where do you find Hispanic drivers? For starters, you might check out the first-ever Truck Show Latino Oct. 13-15 in Pomona, Calif. The site was chosen because it is surrounded by a huge Latino population. The show's goal: to help the industry reach this growing trucker base.
And when you reach out to these potential drivers, it's good to do it in Spanish. Driver recruiting ads and brochures should be translated. Recruiters and dispatchers should speak Spanish to maximize attraction to your company, and to maximize communications once they're hired.
And it doesn't hurt a bit if your translators are familiar with trucking terminology, which is practically a language unto itself.
Shortly after NAFTA was passed, we launched a fleet magazine for the Mexican trucking community. It was called Camiones (That's Trucks, in English).
"Shrimp?" I asked, when first advised of the magazine's name? (Obviously, my Spanish needs help).
Are we destined to becoming bilingual? I don't know, but one trucking executive I know requires all his fleet managers to speak Spanish.
In view of the driver situation, that's not a bad idea.
E-mail Deb Whistler at dwhistler@truckinginfo.com
