LOUISVILLE, Ken. — The Next Generation in Trucking Association (NGT) is recognizing 16 fleets for their efforts to attract Gen Z and Millennials to the trucking industry.
These younger generations are needed to fill vital trucking jobs like professional drivers, diesel technicians, dock workers, warehouse associates and more, according to Next Gen Trucking.
The Career Catalyst Award program, new in 2025, honors and celebrates the innovation, effort, time and resources exhibited by fleets to reach younger people, specifically those entering the workforce as they leave high school and college. This year’s award program was sponsored by The National Transportation Institute.
“The work, and the results, this year’s recipients have showcased are astounding,” said Lindsey Trent, president and co-founder of Next Gen Trucking. “They’re all setting an example the entire industry can look to for answers to help fix one of the root problems our industry faces, which is getting young people interested in trucking and providing careers they want to remain in.”
2025 Career Catalyst Award Winners
This year’s winners, representing for-hire motor carriers of all sizes in addition to private fleets, include (in alphabetical order):
- Alaska West Express
- Averitt
- Ben E. Keith Foods
- Boyd CAT
- Cal Valley Trucking
- Christenson Transportation
- Garner Trucking
- Ginsberg’s Foods
- Keller Trucking
- Kenan Advantage Group
- Key Oil
- Old Dominion Freight Lines
- Performance Food Service
- Republic Services
- Ryder System
- Upper Lake Foods
“This year’s Career Catalyst Award winners prove we can make inroads with younger generations and create company cultures where they can thrive,” Trent said. “I want to thank this year’s winners for their dedication in accomplishing those goals, extend appreciation for participating in the Career Catalyst Award program, and to say a resounding congratulations on earning this award in its inaugural year.”
Recipients of this year’s Career Catalyst Awards are celebrated for numerous efforts to grow the trucking industry, including:
- Hiring high school graduates as dock workers, driver helpers, warehouse associates and office personnel
- Offering CDL and diesel mechanic training
- Partnering with high schools and community colleges to launch CDL programs
- Hosting onsite tours and student enrichment events
- Participating in the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program
- Using technology to make jobs more efficient and appealing
- Promoting career advancement and entrepreneurship opportunities
- Building future leadership pipelines through internships and recent graduate hiring initiatives
Providing Career Paths
“We have to meet young people where they are,” Trent said. “The use of technology, cultivating working environments built around longevity, creating and messaging career progression plans, enriching soft skills and leadership training — these are all ways we can connect with younger people to grow their interest in trucking and give them skills they need to succeed.”
Next Gen Trucking founder Dave Dein, a truck driving coordinator and instructor at Patterson High School in Patterson, California, has worked to establish CDL programs at the high school level.
“So many of today’s teenagers are hungry for the types of opportunities trucking offers and alternatives to traditional college and career tracks,” he said. “They’re actively looking for opportunities like the ones the Career Catalyst Award winners offer and the chance to prove themselves, earn a great living and excel in careers in trucking. Thank you, and congratulations to this year’s winners.”
Members of Generation Z, who are currently in high school and into their 20s, are a natural fit in trucking, according to Trent.
“They’re entrepreneurial. They want to work with technology. They also want to make a difference,” she said, adding that trucking offers all of these things. “There’s a very direct career path to becoming an owner-operator and running a small business.”
Part of the mission of Next Gen Trucking is to show the importance of trucking to society to young people.
“Trucking is a very technologically forward industry. … Without trucks on the road, we would fall apart as a nation,” Trent said. “So many things about trucking appeal to Gen Z. We just have to communicate that to them. This year’s Career Catalyst Award winners have shown we can, and that we can do it effectively.”
Building Tomorrow’s Workplaces
Leah Shaver, president and CEO of NTI is a founding member of NGT and serves on the association’s board of directors.
“Make no mistake: Our industry is at a critical juncture, and we have a dire need to attract and retain younger generations,” she said. “Creating and articulating career paths are the first steps for any successful fleet to reach the next generation of professional drivers and diesel technicians.”
According to Shaver, the average age of truck drivers in the U.S. is mid-50s, and the average age of new drivers entering the industry is nearly 40. Nearly half of the nation’s workforce is made up of Millennials (people in their 30s and early 40s). However, this generation only accounts for 20% of the trucking industry workforce; that’s one in five workers.
“That’s why it’s important that we celebrate the efforts of this year’s Career Catalyst Award winners and try to follow their lead — and it’s why it’s important that we highlight and support the important work that Lindsey, Dave and the rest of the Next Generation in Trucking Association do for our industry and for young people entering adulthood and trying to find the right career,” Shaver said. “Trucking can and should be that career.
“It is so uplifting, inspiring and encouraging to see what the fleets represented in this year’s Career Catalyst Award program are doing to help build trucking’s workforce of tomorrow,” she continued.
About the Next Generation Trucking Association
The Next Generation in Trucking Association), founded in 2021, has engaged with hundreds of high schools and community colleges across the country to establish CDL programs and connect young adults with careers in trucking. Its mission is to promote trucking as a positive career choice.
In addition, the group works to build pathways to employment by creating and supporting education and training programs, connecting talent with industry employers, and celebrating the achievements of students, young professionals and companies.
For more information about the 2025 Career Catalyst Award program or about the Next Generation in Trucking Association, visit nextgentrucking.org or contact Lindsey Trent at [email protected].
Linda Garner-Bunch has been with The Trucker since 2020, picking up the reins as managing editor in 2022. Linda has nearly 40 years of experience in the publishing industry, covering topics from the trucking and automotive industry to employment, real estate, home decor, crafts, cooking, weddings, high school sports — you name it, she’s written about it. She is also an experienced photographer, designer and copy editor who has a heartfelt love for the trucking industry, from the driver’s seat to the C-suite.
