Businesses in Virginia have begun an advertising campaign aimed at getting more women into the trucking industry.
In the face of the “truck driver shortage,” groups Virginia Western and CDS Tractor Trailer training have teamed up in Roanoke, Virginia and are advertising specifically to women using an 18-wheeler with an advertisement reading “women in truck driving.”
“We’ve seen a huge uptick in the number of women who have come into our program,” said Crystal Kennedy of CDS Tractor Trailer training. “We’re up to about 10 percent of our student population being women… We need to challenge some of the stereotypes coming out in today’s industry.”
The female-aimed advertisement seems to be working locally, and many of women who have begun training to be a truck driver because of the moving billboard say that they had never pictured themselves as a trucker prior to seeing the advertisement, reported WDBJ 7 News.
“My favorite thing is knowing I can handle something that big on the road, and be able to transport the merchandise people needs these days,” said driver-in-training Faye Clark.
