Building the Workforce from the Inside Out: Fastenal’s Approach to Talent Development

In this episode of NGT Talks, Lindsey sits down with Liz from Fastenal, a founding member of Next Gen Trucking and a longtime leader passionate about workforce development. Liz shares her personal journey, starting with Fastenal 20 years ago in a part-time distribution center role and growing into her current position supporting HR best practices across distribution centers nationwide and internationally. Her story highlights how word-of-mouth opportunities, strong company culture, and internal growth pathways can shape long, fulfilling careers.Liz discusses why Fastenal’s people-first culture and commitment to promoting from within have kept her engaged for two decades. She explains how clear communication, strong onboarding, leadership access, and transparent career conversations help employees grow—whether they aim to advance within Fastenal or balance work with continuing education. For young people exploring alternatives to a traditional four-year college path, Liz outlines entry-level opportunities in distribution, driving, and operations, emphasizing work ethic, accountability, and ownership as key traits for success.A major focus of the conversation centers on Fastenal’s innovative work with high schools. Liz describes hands-on classroom workshops that combine short instruction with interactive activities—such as miniature forklift relays, safety challenges, and team-based problem solving—to make careers in manufacturing, logistics, and safety engaging and memorable. These experiences often lead to facility tours, deeper student-employer relationships, and clearer career pathways. Liz also shares insights on Gen Z, noting that students coming from career and technical education programs tend to be more focused, prepared, and goal-oriented.The episode wraps with a powerful call to action for employers and educators. Liz encourages listeners not to let fear hold them back from working with schools, reminding them that meaningful partnerships often begin with a simple conversation. She highlights growing investments in CTE programs, Fastenal’s expanding involvement with FFA and scholarships, and the long-term impact of connecting students to real-world career opportunities early. Together, Lindsey and Liz underscore a shared belief: supporting youth today strengthens communities, industries, and the future workforce for everyone.https://www.fastenal.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-rivera-8493151b2/Thank you to our Sponsors!!!https://www.performancefoodservice.com/https://www.descartes.com/homehttps://www.act1trucking.org/https://www.xpo.com/https://driverwages.com/https://atssimulation.com/https://www.mjai.com/https://www.averitt.com/https://www.dhl.com/us-en/home.html?locale=truehttps://fusionnow.io/https://gfs.com/en-us/https://forklift-simulator.com/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.orgContact us at:  [email protected] us on socials here:FacebookInstagramYoutubeLinkedInTikTok