Dive Brief:
- Ryder kicked off October celebrating National Technician Appreciation Week for the first time ever as it works to improve hiring and retention.
- To help with that recognition, the company unveiled a dedication video on its social media channels. That aligns with a recruiting strategy that the company has accelerated this year through social media, Ryder’s director for technician recruitment, Ari Schuss, told Transport Dive on Sept. 28.
- Ryder currently has 4,900 maintenance techs and tends to hire about 1,400 maintenance techs per year, the company said.
Dive Insight:
COVID-19 disrupted a school hiring pipeline and staff retention for Ryder, where positions can cover remote areas that are challenging to fill. The company has sought to get in front of passive candidates as part of its strategy.
The need for diesel service technicians and mechanics is projected to create 28,500 openings per year on average this decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment overall will grow 4% from 2021 to 2031, about the same as other occupations, the agency projected.
But some have labeled the need as much more pressing. Penske described diesel technician staffing as a shortage in a November 2021 article, stating it could worsen as “Baby Boomers age and fewer workers enter vocational education programs.”
Ryder is pursuing several strategies to recover after the pandemic affected school partnerships; as many as 200 schools can serve as a key link to connecting students with the company’s job openings, Schuss said.
Promoting the company culture, hiring within the company for its service staff, and examining pay levels are among those efforts.
While technicians can view their career paths as limited, Ryder is looking to dispel that narrative, showing what’s possible, Schuss said. “We look at these folks as part of the family,” she said.
