Skills Tests You Need for Truck and Delivery Driver Jobs
Truck and delivery drivers are part of the backbone of the American economy. With more and more people relying on deliveries to their homes and continually increasing demand for finished goods and raw materials in almost every area of the economy, drivers make sure that goods get to where they are needed, on time and in good condition.
It is also no surprise that the industry is almost always short of qualified candidates for these driver jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation is expected to add at least 75,000 new truck and delivery driver jobs over the next 10 years, a 5% rate that beats the national average job growth. This, of course, does not account for drivers who leave the industry due to retirement or other reasons, which means that driving jobs will continue to be available.
While the potential for driverless trucks has raised the possibility of counterbalancing this job growth, the likelihood of this happening in the near future has been largely overstated. Maury Gittleman and Kristen Monaco, writing for the Harvard Business Review, suggest that driver positions are unlikely to be displaced by driverless vehicles. This is generally due to technical and licensing hurdles that have yet to be cleared, as well as the added value that drivers provide outside of their driving duties.
The increasing number of positions combined with the shortage of candidates make it more important than ever to ensure that potential new hires have the skills necessary to perform the job properly. One important step is to make skills assessment testing a part of your hiring process. With Skills Tests from eSkill, you can test job candidates to ensure that they not only have the skills that are required, but that they also have the psychological fit to be a long-term employee.
The Most Important Skills for Truck and Delivery Drivers
While those who are outside of the transportation industry may think that there is not much to being a driver, industry veterans know that could not be further from the truth. Drivers are part of a complicated supply chain, and there are several important skills that they need to possess in order to be successful.
Because of this, it is a good idea to include skills testing throughout the interview process to ensure that your candidates will be a good fit for the job.
- Safety: First and foremost, a driver must be safe. Not only do accidents make it virtually impossible to complete jobs on time, but they also put equipment and human life at risk. Truck and delivery drivers need a firm grasp of driving laws, a commitment to following the rules of the road, and the willingness to ask for extra time, rather than drive hazardously.
- Organization: While the driver is at the end of the supply chain, they are still an integral part of it, and that requires paying attention to details. Logging hours, tracking delivery times and locations, and taking care of processes like trip planning all require attention.
- Communication: Being a good communicator is a critical part of ensuring that the supply chain stays intact. A lot can happen out on the road, from traffic jams to weather complications, and a good driver stays in constant communication with dispatchers, keeping them updated on their schedule and location.
- Flexibility: If there is one thing that most drivers know, it is that almost nothing goes according to plan. While planning your route is important, a good driver has to be able to roll with the punches, adapting their route and their schedule to changes as necessary.
- Mechanical knowledge: No one is asking a truck or delivery driver to be a mechanic. But they should have enough familiarity with their equipment to be able to identify trouble once it occurs. When they are able to solve small problems by themselves, drivers can minimize the disruption to the supply chain.
Skills Testing and Development
With eSkill’s hiring and training software, developing these important skills is easier than ever. Skills Assessment Tests can create a baseline report for every employee, including new hires, which can help to guide upskilling and reskilling for each employee. eSkill has more than 800 standard tests that you can use to create customized Skills Tests that are tailored specifically to your needs.
Skills tests are a vital tool for evaluating employee progress and the effectiveness of your development programs. When you administer new skills assessment tests after training, you can compare the results to your earlier baseline reports, which should reflect the progress that each employee has made. Based on these results, you can continue your training or investigate more remedial methods.
Interested in Helping Your Truck and Delivery Drivers Develop Their Skills?
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