Have You Ever Considered Driving a Truck?
Larry Johnson
July 20, 2007
Are you over 40? Retired, downsized, right-sized or maybe feel broadsided by a significant re-structuring in your industry? The Transportation, Distribution, Warehousing and Logistics (TDWL) industries need you! This industry “career path” is getting a well-deserved second look today by many in Nebraska and elsewhere.
As a supply chain “hub” in the ever evolving world economy, Nebraskans are building awareness and training programs to meet the growing demand in this high demand, high wage career field. Economic and work force developers in the state recognized long ago that Nebraska’s lack of snow capped mountain views or sunny beaches have been, in the past, a liability that unfortunately we couldn’t change. However, with the rapid change of the world economy and supply chain management principles – Nebraska’s geographic north/south, east/west location has become quite an advantage that can’t be taken away.
With over 8000, licensed motor carrier companies and one of the two largest Class I railroads calling Nebraska home, our state has the resources, lifelong training/education capacity and high wage, high demand career opportunities to assist workers over 40 needing a change. As new distribution and warehousing models are developed, many projects are taking a hard look at Nebraska’s other advantages, which include great roads, no traffic congestion, a great quality of life, lower land prices and electric power rates, to develop a hub and spoke system delivery system to the congested population centers on both coasts.
A recent pioneering statewide partnership that encompasses our state government’s department of labor, K-12 education, workforce development, economic development plus business and industry, has evolved into a dynamic program called Future Force Nebraska (www.futureforcenebraska.org) . Nebraska’s Future Force, combined with a sister organization called Nebraska Career Education has eagerly adopted a life-long learning, training and work program called “Career Pathways”. In Nebraska, we have identified eight different career pathways that someone can begin as early as middle school, but progress through a lifetime of learning and opportunities. As the President of Nebraska’s Trucking Association (www.nebtrucking.com), I am most familiar with transportation and in particular the growing need of workers in the trucking industry nationwide.
While our industry nationally is currently short 20,000 drivers, which we anticipate growing to over 100,000 by 2014 – literally every segment of this vital career path will need willing and trained men and women to support the growth in freight throughout North America and into North America, especially from Asia. A recent campaign to increase awareness of truck driving was launched by the American Trucking Association and it fifty state affiliates. The ad campaign directs you to its website www.gettrucking.com and is a tremendous resource for finding training schools and employers in Nebraska and elsewhere.
What are you waiting for? Transportation, Distribution, Warehousing and Logistics jobs can’t be outsourced or off-shored and for the foreseeable future will be in high demand as the needs of the world supply chain continues to grow. Get started today by visiting one of Nebraska’s informative job websites plus the American Trucking Association’s informative national web site, which I’ve mentioned. You will be glad you checked out this exciting option of working in the logistics industry.
Happy travels in the future on our nation’s highways and byways- - especially if you choose to pursue this “new” and exciting career path of driving a truck.
Larry Johnson, who serves as the President of the Nebraska Trucking Association, can be contacted at (402) 476-8504 or via email at ljohnson@nebtrucking.com.
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