The trucking industry has been working to bring drivers to the field, and the demographics of students entering professional driving schools show that the number of white men within the industry is slowly shrinking.
“We are seeing somewhat of a little older population than we’ve seen in the past, but we’re also seeing the most diverse ethnic group we’ve ever seen,” said Martin Garsee, director of the professional driving program at the Houston Community College in Houston, Texas.
Shifting Demographics
Over the past three years, the number of black students entering Houston Community College’s driving program has doubled. Garsee is also seeing more students from parts of Europe and the Middle East. He said, “There is no question that we’re going to have a lot of Middle Easterners in the trucking industry in the next year.”
Statistics from the U.S. Department of Education show that 51 percent of those completing driving programs in 2012–2013 were white, down three percentage points from 2009–10. The Education Department reported that 28 percent were black and 12 percent were Hispanic. Eight percent are women. Currently, 73 percent of professional drivers are white and about 12 percent each are black or Hispanic. Less than 5 percent are women...