Teens take the wheel: Truck driver shortage has public schools preparing the pipeline

OTHELLO, Wash. — Almost every item you own — from your toothbrush to your bedframe, to the makings of that daily cup of coffee – gets to you by truck. For needed goods, it is estimated that 80% of Washington communities rely on trucks alone, according to the Washington Trucking Association.

Industry leaders told KING 5 there are not enough new truck drivers. In a matter of years, the shortage could have crisis-level consequences for all of us unless we find a way to pack the pipeline.

Othello School District is working to do just that.

“I’m not sure I ever thought I’d buy a semi,” said Amy Parris, a counselor at Othello School District.

The public school district recently bought a semi-truck and a tanker for just over $21,000. Parris said Washington trucking company LTI gave them a discount.

The trucks are now being studied and practiced on by the inaugural class of Othello High School’s new Career and Technical Education course for 12th graders. It is among the first schools in Washington to offer such a course.

“We’re growing the pool of potential employees,” Parris said.

The course’s curriculum follows federal guidelines so 18-year-old students can learn the safety guidelines associated with driving large trucks. The high school seniors are working toward getting their Commercial Drivers License, or CDL, by graduation.

“That’d be good on my resume,” student Nelson Arias said.

Arias, an Othello High 12th grader, just passed his Commercial’s Learners Permit, and he has been busy practicing driving the school’s newly acquired truck with his teacher, Homer Montemayor, in the passenger’s seat.

“He just started, he wasn’t missing a gear,” Montemayor said. “He was downshifting, he was upshifting. And he was being cautious about where he was at, his lane travel. So, he did amazing, he did a really good job.”

In agricultural cities like Othello, the need is in plain view. Signs are posted just down the road from the school’s transportation center that said “Drivers Needed.”

You don’t have to tell Bill Mannon of Everett about the need. He has been working steadily as a truck driver for nearly the last three decades.

“Without these trucks, then you’re gonna have cargo ships sitting at docks, trying to get somebody to haul that freight somewhere and they’re just gonna back up,” Mannon said. “There’s a lot at stake, lots, lots at stake.”

In his career, Mannon has hauled nearly everything, including cars, parts, and food.

“Our economy depends on trucks,” Mannon said.

But lately, his truck’s persistent blinker sounds more and more to him like a ticking time clock — one that’s counting down the handful of years he has left until retirement.

“The light at the end of the tunnel is like, right here now, and I can feel it,” Mannon said.

But for the industry he is leaving behind, Mannon said he is scared.

“You can make really good money,” Manno said. “I just don’t understand why nobody wants to go for it.”

To replace retiring drivers like Mannon, the American Trucking Association reports the industry will need to recruit nearly 1.2 million new drivers over the next decade. That’s one-third of today’s entire pool of truck drivers in the U.S.

Meanwhile, 200 miles east of Seattle in Othello, students at Othello High School like Trae Deleon are getting excited about the idea of long road trips shipping freight.

“What’s better than driving around, listenin’ to some jams?” Deleon said.

Maybe, just maybe, it is not so much that young people are not interested in becoming truck drivers. Maybe the shortage is more an issue of opportunity.

“On my bus, I’ve heard kids say, ‘Why should I even try?’” said Dawn Douglas, Othello High School teacher. “I’m just going to end up working in the field in the orchards like my parents do.’ This is an industry that kids can start having goals.”

Students are educated on the critical role drivers play in society.

“You’re helping the back of the bone of the United States, basically,” Arias said.

The class is improving their access to opportunities.

“Going to like a like a regular trucking school, costs like up to like $5,000,” Arias said. “At the high school, it’s a lot more cheaper and stuff. I was like, I’d be super stoked for that.”

It is important to note that in Othello, the poverty rate is roughly twice that of Washington’s as a state. Expensive prerequisites can be a barrier.

“Coming straight out of high school it’s only, at most, $500,” Deleon said.

KING 5 asked Mannon what he thought of that cost.

“$500? That’s cheap, that’s cheap,” Mannon said.

In his decades behind the wheel, Mannon said he has observed financial barriers too often.

“A lot of times they just get that fear of the cost,” Mannon said. “How much it’s gonna cost, ya know? May not have the money to do it.”

Mannon said he believes college isn’t for everyone.

“$500 over a college payment, ya know?” Mannon said.

In this career, you can still be successful regardless of a college diploma.

“You can get out there and make money right away,” Mannon said.

Othello School District leaders want to encourage that.

“These kids, to be able to go out and get a job with no debt, you know?” Parris said. “That’s our goal too.”

And for students like Deleon and Arias, to see themselves riding high is a confidence boost.

“It almost makes me cry like, it’s so cool,” Parris said.

The exposure the students are getting in this class have them thinking about their options.

“I think it’s a good industry to get into, especially when you’re this young,” Deleon said.

Parris recognizes that part of the solution is drawing females to the profession. The U.S. Department of Labor said they make up nearly 47% of all American workers, but only 6.6% of American truck drivers.

“You can have an 8-5 job with a CDL,” Parris said. “So if if a female chose to still have a family, and be able to do all those things — if that was the barrier — there’s certainly jobs out there. So we want to expose them to that.”

She said about eight girls at Othello High plan to enroll in the course next school year.

“It’s a great start,” she said.

“There’s money to be had,” Mannon said.

Now just about one month away from graduation, students are making plans. Deleon said eventually he would like to buy his own truck and start his own trucking business with trucking.

Arias said he hopes to get a job driving trucks after graduation, possibly in the local orchards.

And as for Mannon, although the clock may be ticking on his time in the driver’s seat, at least he has reason for hope.

“There was a lot of people are interested in doing it, correct?” Mannon said. “That’s hope right there. I hope more schools are that way.”