As employment turnover issues continue to plague the trucking service channel, more businesses are investing resources in the recruitment and acquisition of new technicians. It’s a valid strategy that makes sense considering the need.
But recruitment alone will not solve any business’ employment problems. To halt employee turnover and begin building a dependable team of technicians, service providers also must stick the landing. New recruits have to stay.
According to a 2018 survey by CCJ publisher Randall-Reilly, of more than 1,200 professional technicians in the trucking, agriculture, construction and automotive industries, more than half of today’s technician population has worked for at least two maintenance or repair businesses in the past five years.
In the trucking market, specifically, 56% of the more than 800 technicians surveyed claimed they are on at least job No. 2 in the last five years, and 20% said they’ve had three or more jobs.
When done well, apprenticeship programs – also sometimes referred to as internships – provide technician students invaluable insight on the day-to-day experience of working in a diesel service shop, including common repairs, management styles, employee expectations and overall corporate culture.
