So we have a shortage of truck drivers and truck technicians, and it’s tough to get the parts we need on time—other than that, things are pretty rosy in the trucking sector.
Yeah, yeah, I’m oversimplifying it. There are also fuel prices, truck parking, driver compensation, detention and delays at customs facilities, speed limiters, driver retention, lawsuit abuse reform, compliance, safety, accountability, and even the economy.
If we toss in our sports team not doing well (dem bums), the closure of truck stops, and everyone trying to jam green power down everyone’s throat without having a working solution for long-haul—well, except for home cooking, there’s nothing that makes everyone in the industry happy. And we aren’t even sure about the prospect of home cooking. I’m sure you are tired of cars zipping in front of you and braking hard when they realize there was a reason you were driving slowly. Doesn’t everyone love being cut off?
These are just some of the concerns, I am sure, of the truck driver and the mobile service truck technician.
For the in-shop technician, while we know you love the money you can earn from simply doing your job, it just seems like there’s no end to it. You are only one person, and you are getting older—not that you’d admit to that as a negative.
Despite all that, our biggest concern doesn’t concern you.
In reality, our biggest concern is trying to encourage people to enter our field— specifically as a truck or a heavy-duty vehicle technician.
I’m doing my part as a responsible father and editor of Service Truck Magazine, as my son will be going to learn about heavy-duty engine repair this September— an hour-plus drive each way with me driving. Father of the Year, or Idiot of the Year?
I was watching television—as I enjoy doing—the other day and wondered about ways we could encourage people to come into our industry. I was thinking about tele- vision shows and movies that showcase our industryer, in a positive manner.
I can recall as a kid watching epic truckin’ shows such as Movin’ On—two seasons plus a movie for a total of 45 episodes—back in 1975-’76 on NBC. It starred Claude Akins as big-rig driver Sonny Pruitt and Frank Converse as his college-educated co-driver, Will Chandler. I didn’t know it at the time, but the show’s theme song “Movin’ On”, was written and performed by Mister Merle Haggard and was a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in July of 1975.
While I enjoyed that show, I really liked the comedic antics of B.J. and the Bear from 1979 through 1981, another NBC show that lasted three seasons for a total of 46 episodes, plus a pilot shot in 1978.
This show starred actors Greg Evigan and Claude Akins (again). Evigan played Billie Joe “B.J.” McKay, a truck driver whose best friend was a chimpanzee named Bear, who traveled across America with him, get- ting into and out of trouble. Akins played Sheriff Lobo and received his own spin-off (Sheriff Lobo) while B.J. and the Bear was still on.
So what’s with the TV trucking shows and Claude Akins?
I’m not sure about Akins—I always thought he was a pretty good actor—but B.J. and the Bear (the chimp was named after famed college football coach Bear Bryant) was created to take advantage of the then-current craze of CB Radio and trucking that was prevalent in North America… though by the time B.J. appeared, it may have already peaked.
Along with the Movin’ On song, there was also the number one hit song Convoy, which was performed by C. W. McCall (a character co-created and voiced by Bill Fries and Chip Davis—wait a second! Chip and Fries? LOL!) that became a number-one song on both the country and pop charts in the US. It is No. 98 in Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.
And what about cool movies like White Line Fever (1975), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Convoy (1978), and Every Which Way but Loose (1978)? While none of those had Claude Akins in them, unfortunately, they had: Jan-Michael Vincent; Burt Reynolds, Sally Fields, and Jackie Gleason; Kris Kristofferson, and Ali Mac- Graw; and Clint Eastwood, respectively.
Eastwood’s Every Which Way but Loose movie had him paired with an orangutan named Clyde and spawned a sequel, Any Which Way You Can, two of the highest grossing Eastwood films. Yeah, go ahead, make my ape’s day.
And yup… I have watched all of these television shows and movies. For me, it must have subconsciously fostered a love for the trucking industry.
Still, I did wonder if similar modern programming might have a positive effect in attracting new blood to the industry.
Then I remembered—oh yeah, there have been a lot of television shows on recently about trucking, such as Ice Road Truckers; Ice Road Truckers Deadliest Roads; Big Rig Warriors; American Trucker; Truck Stop USA; Shipping Wars; RoadLife; King of the Road; Outback Truckers; and Heavy Rescue: 401.
Why so many television shows and movies? Are we, as a North American culture, fascinated by what goes on behind the wheel of a semi? Do we all not secretly dream of being on the highway looking for adventure and whatever comes our way?
Yeah, I know that was a motorcycle riff, but the feelings hold. Do we wish we could get our kicks on Route 66?
I thought about all of these television shows being on air now (and recently) and wondered if they had even the slightest impact on generating interest in joining the industry as a driver or technician?
And then I realized who the audience was. It ain’t the young, I can tell you that— at least not in significant numbers.
Generally speaking, today’s youth don’t watch a lot of television. Television may even fade away into the sunset unless it can attract younger viewers. Right now, tele- vision has become a Simpsons trope from 30 years ago, when Grandpa Abe Simpson would suddenly cry out “Matlock” as his show of choice.
We have become akin to Abe Simpson. We got old, and we like old things, gosh darn it. But getting older is certainly better than the alternative—not getting older, if you know what I mean.
So obviously, TV is out as a method to generate interest as a truck driver or truck or heavy-duty technician.
And creating content for youth to watch via social media? It’s possible, but I think we need to become personally involved first.
In our previous issue of STM, I wrote that truck repair shops should put their money where their mouth is and set up scholarship opportunities for students on an annual basis.
It shouldn’t be based on whether or not there’s a parent already involved in the industry—that’s just rewarding nepotism unjustly. Having said that, I’m just a writer.
As well, I don’t believe we need to base these scholarships solely upon scholastic aptitude or the ability to write an essay detailing why they want to be truck technicians. As a writer, I feel there should be a written component to the process, but it need not be the defining element.
“I’m 18, and I’m looking to learn.”
That should be all it takes for someone to take a flyer via a small, encouraging scholarship to give a young person a future.
But what wasn’t talked about was how we get that knowledge of a career as a truck/heavy-duty technician into the hands of the students.
Well, there’s no point in bringing up a conundrum unless I’m ready to offer up a possible solution or two.
Many shops are already doing this— making themselves known to the trade schools in their local area. However, that’s just businesses trying to get their foot in the door where they know there’s already a technician or two. That’s all fine, but it does nothing to encourage the growth of possible service technician candidates. We need to do better than that as an industry.
We—the proverbial we—need to make ourselves known at every local high school. We need to be present at every job fair, and we need friendly, articulate people to attend these school job fairs to entice them. And we need to encourage boys, girls, et al of different socio-economic backgrounds and different skin tones. We need to be completely inclusive.
We also need to get them when they are still deciding on 1) a career choice and 2) a post-secondary school.
We need to be able to butter them up with possible scholarships. We need to be able to NOT disqualify anyone because they have no experience. A willingness to learn should be enough.
Trust me, I couldn’t write through five years of university, but I was taught how to write during two years of college learning journalism. Yes, sometimes it depends on the student, but it also depends on the teacher, the method of teaching, and the timing of when the student is exposed to a subject or the teacher!
That latter part is important. Despite being a university graduate, I certainly wasn’t mature enough at the time to have put in the effort while getting my degree. For whatever reason, the effort became part of my daily mantra when I graduated from university and enrolled in college. Per- haps it was being older and more mature. Perhaps it was simply being interested in the subject matter. Timing, as they say, is everything.
The point here is to not disregard someone merely upon first glance or first impression. Talking with someone may reveal their true identity. Even then, some- times the best-laid plans may fall apart. Students with good intentions, for whatever reason, often find they are not cut out for that type of schooling. Or, even when they graduate and begin working, they may quickly find the work not quite their cupof tea.
But we still need to try. It’s why we can’t just try and convince one young high schooler to enter the trade of truck or heavy-duty technician. We need to convince many to get just one due to simple attrition.
