Next Gen Trucking Talk with Lindsey Trent

Fewer Grads, More Demand: Winning the Talent Predicament with Brett Pawlowski from Roundhouse

Lindsey Trent

In this episode, Lindsey sits down with Brett Pawlowski of Roundhouse Partnerships to unpack his new white paper, Investing in the Future, and why employers must treat early-talent development as a measurable, strategic investment—not a nice-to-have. Brett explains the “black box” between education and employment and lays out a practical, three-phase model—Awareness → Engagement → Recruitment—that any company can start using with limited budgets. The conversation hits major workforce headwinds (retirements, shrinking birth rates, rising skill demands) and shows how coalitions—associations, chambers, and industry groups like Next Gen Trucking—can create leverage. You’ll also hear surprising ROI wins from employee volunteerism (higher satisfaction and retention) and simple, high-impact actions: guest speaking, facility tours, job shadows, advisory boards, and CTSO support (FFA, SkillsUSA). Brett closes with a call to build shared metrics with local CTE partners and points listeners to his resources and papers at roundhousepartnerships.com.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-pawlowski-96b0441/
https://roundhousepartnerships.com/

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The Next Generation in Trucking Association is a non-profit trade association who is engaging and training the next generation of trucking industry professionals by partnering with high schools, community/technical colleges and private schools to connect to and launch training programs around North America.

Visit our website: www.nextgentruckers.com

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