Next Generation in Trucking Association Announces 2025 Career Catalyst Award Winners
In a powerful move toward building a sustainable and younger trucking workforce, the Next Generation in Trucking Association has honored 16 outstanding fleets with its inaugural Career Catalyst Awards. This recognition highlights fleets—both for-hire and private—that are creating meaningful career paths for young truck drivers, diesel technicians, warehouse associates, and more.
The 2025 Career Catalyst Award celebrates innovative training programs, high school outreach, CDL development partnerships, and forward-thinking workforce strategies designed to attract Gen Z and Millennial talent into trucking.
Building Careers, Not Just Jobs
“The recipients of this year’s Career Catalyst Awards are showing the entire industry what’s possible when we invest in the next generation,” says Lindsey Trent, President and Co-Founder of the Next Generation in Trucking Association. “They’re tackling one of trucking’s biggest challenges—recruiting young talent—with solutions that work.”
These companies are not only hiring recent high school graduates, but also training young adults through CDL programs, diesel tech apprenticeships, and leadership development. They’re leveraging technology, career progression, and hands-on education to make trucking a first-choice career.
What Makes a Career Catalyst?
Award recipients are recognized for efforts such as:
- Hiring high school grads 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
“We have to meet young people where they are,” Trent says. “Technology, purpose-driven work, and career growth are all key to connecting with Gen Z.”
Meet the 2025 Award Winners
This year’s winners represent a diverse mix of fleet sizes and operational models:
For-Hire Carriers:
- Ryder System – Miami, FL
- Kenan Advantage Group – North Canton, OH
- Averitt – Cookeville, TN
- Old Dominion Freight Line – Thomasville, NC
- Christenson Transportation – Lebanon, TN
- Keller Trucking – Defiance, OH
- Upper Lake Foods – Cloquet, MN
- Alaska West Express – Anchorage, AK
- Garner Trucking – Findlay, OH
Private Fleets:
- Key Oil – Franklin, KY
- Ben E. Keith Foods – Fort Worth, TX
- Republic Services – Phoenix, AZ
- Boyd CAT – Louisville, KY
- Cal Valley Trucking – Modesto, CA
- Ginsberg’s Foods – Hudson, NY
- Performance Foodservice – Richmond, VA
These companies range from nationally recognized brands to smaller, family-owned operations—all united by a common goal: to grow trucking’s future workforce.
Why This Matters: A Workforce at a Crossroads
Leah Shaver, President and CEO of The National Transportation Institute, says the trucking industry faces a critical moment concerning age demographics: According to NTI data:
- The average new entrant driver is nearly 40 years old
- The average age of trucking’s workforce is in their mid-50s
- Millennials make up half of the U.S. workforce but only 20% of trucking
“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,” Shaver says. “That’s why it’s important that we celebrate their efforts 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. Trucking can and should be that career.”
NTI sponsored the 2025 Career Catalyst Awards program.
The Mission of Next Gen Trucking
Founded in 2021, the Next Generation in Trucking Association has been at the forefront of this movement. By partnering with high schools and colleges nationwide, they are:
- Promoting trucking as a viable, rewarding career
- Supporting CDL, diesel tech, and supply chain & logistics education programs
- Connecting students with employers
- Celebrating industry innovation and success
As co-founder and educator Dave Dein notes, “Teenagers are hungry for real-world career opportunities. Many are eager to join the workforce in high-demand trades like trucking.”
The Road Ahead: A Message to Gen Z
“Gen Z is entrepreneurial, tech-savvy, and eager to make an impact,” says Trent. “Trucking offers all of that—plus the potential to own a business, work with cutting-edge technology, and contribute to the nation’s economy.”
This year’s award winners are proving that with the right messaging and support, we can inspire the next generation to choose trucking.
For more information about the Career Catalyst Award or how your fleet can get involved, visit nextgentrucking.org or contact Lindsey Trent at [email protected].