Editor’s note: This is part of the third article in a three-month series examining the driver shortage, measuring its impact on trucking operations and exploring methods to mitigate the crisis.
Nearly 250,000 service members leave the military every year. That’s a potential labor pool five times larger than the estimated number of vacancies in the for-hire trucking industry.
Add to that veterans’ reputation for a strong work ethic and adaptability, and it’s easy to see why they have long been a prime target for carriers looking for a source of dependable drivers.
Among the first to recognize veterans’ potential was Werner Enterprises, which over the last dozen years has hired more than 25,000 military veterans and spouses, groups that now make up 20 percent of the company’s labor force, although not all of them are drivers. Werner has pledged to hire 2,000 more veterans and 250 more spouses this year.
Werner offers returning military the opportunity for “a good living for their families and a career path,” says Jim Morbach, Werner’s associate vice president of student and government recruiting. The company recently was named CCJ’s 2018 Innovator of the Year for its veteran recruitment efforts.
Drivers with military experience are also among the most sought-after applicants by nearby Lincoln, Neb.-based Crete Carrier (CCJ Top 250, No. 22). “[With drivers with military experience] you get somebody that is responsible, that’s used to making decisions and taking direction and more reliable,” says Issac Phillips, Crete’s driver development and owner-operator program manager.
