When Schneider approached SCS about a possible recruitment campaign, the software company agreed, saying it hoped it would create an environment where the simulator could be both “enjoyable and immersive.” The construct brings the recruitment signs to in-game billboards that will theoretically entice gamers to join the company as real-world truck drivers.
“COVID really kind of kicked the baby boomers out, which they drove trucks, a lot of ‘em did,” Judd Perry, the fuel manager for OCA told NPR, adding, “and now that we had such a huge exodus of them, there’s just nobody to replace ‘em.”1.2 million drivers to account for retirees but it faces obstacles such as training costs which can amount to upwards of $7,000. In some cases, Perry told the outlet that they spend the money to train employees only for them to be poached by larger companies a few months later, rendering the money and time spent training them irrelevant. “We put our time in there and then they’re gone,” Perry said. “... It is what it is.”
However, the allure of larger trucking companies may appeal to drivers who are underpaid and are provided limited benefits, making them likely to retire from the field or avoid it altogether. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisticsthat in May 2021, the median wage for tractor-trailer truck drivers was $48,310, while 10% earned only $30,710, hardly enough to live off in an increasingly expensive economy where food prices soared by 10.6% and mortgage interest rates jumped by nearly 3%.