Heavy Lifting: Building Better Career Pathways for the Next Generation of Specialized Carriers and Riggers

As our industry faces increasing demand for specialized transportation and rigging services, we’re confronting a critical challenge: developing the next generation of skilled professionals who can handle complex lifts, specialized transport, and technical planning. Recent research suggests that non-degree pathway programs might hold the key to our workforce development needs – but only if we can ensure these programs serve the full diversity of our prospective workforce.

A nationwide study commissioned by American Student Assistance (ASA) and Jobs for the Future (JFF)  found that participants in career pathway programs report higher employment rates (65% versus 51% for non-participants) and significantly greater confidence in their career preparedness. For our industry, where safety and technical expertise are paramount, these structured pathways – including apprenticeships, certifications, and technical training programs – offer a promising solution to our workforce challenges.

However, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies highlights a crucial gap: our data systems for tracking training effectiveness and career progression remain fragmented, and fail to capture the full diversity of the populations we serve. This is a critical oversight, as specialized transportation and rigging requires a skilled, safety-conscious workforce that reflects the rich diversity of our communities.

For example, our industry has historically struggled to attract and retain workers from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds. Factors like lack of awareness of career opportunities, implicit biases in recruitment, and cultural disconnects have all contributed to this challenge. By failing to collect robust data on the participation and outcomes of diverse learners in our training programs, we risk perpetuating these inequities.

Similarly, our industry must also consider the unique needs of other specialized learner populations, such as English language learners, immigrant workers, and individuals with disabilities. These groups may face distinct barriers to accessing and succeeding in our technical training programs – barriers that can only be identified and addressed through comprehensive data collection and analysis.

The solution requires a two-pronged approach:

First, we must build clear, inclusive career pathways that combine:

• Hands-on apprenticeships with structured mentorship
• Progressive certification tracks (NCCCO, OSHA, etc.)
• Technical training programs designed for diverse learning styles
• Targeted outreach and recruitment efforts to underrepresented groups

Second, we need better data systems to track the participation and outcomes of our diverse workforce, including:

• Demographic breakdowns by race, ethnicity, language proficiency, disability status, and other key factors
• Certification completion rates across different learner populations
• Safety performance metrics (accident rates, certification completion, etc.) for each demographic group
• Career progression patterns for underrepresented groups
• Effectiveness of specialized training and support services

The stakes are high. Our industry requires workers who can safely handle multi-million dollar equipment and execute complex operations where mistakes aren’t an option. By combining structured, inclusive career pathways with robust data tracking, we can better identify successful training approaches, understand barriers to entry and advancement, and ensure our workforce maintains the highest standards of safety and technical expertise – regardless of background.

As we move forward, industry leaders should focus on:

1. Partnering with workforce development organizations, technical schools, and community groups to create welcoming, culturally responsive training environments
2. Developing clear, standardized metrics for measuring equity in training effectiveness and career advancement
3. Building data systems that allow certification and skill records to transfer seamlessly between employers
4. Using disaggregated data to pinpoint disparities, target interventions, and track progress towards greater inclusion

The future of our industry depends on our ability to attract, train, and retain a diverse, highly skilled workforce. By learning from the successes of equitable career pathway programs, and coupling that with comprehensive data tracking, we can build a stronger, more resilient talent pipeline that powers the next generation of specialized transportation and rigging operations.