A shortage of truck drivers persists across the U.S., but three counties are trying to reverse the trend and get more drivers behind the wheel.

“We have an aging population," Warren County Workforce Development Director Liza Ochsendorf said. "Baby Boomers are retiring and many of them are truck drivers.”

The American Trucking Association estimates that in the next decade, the industry will need more than one million new drivers.

“I spoke with UPS recently, and they need a hundred drivers in our region," Ochsendorf said. "We also have Greater Glens Falls Transit that need bus drivers and trolley drivers.”

That's not to mention a number of school districts across the state that desperately need drivers.

But a tri-county effort to help meet the hefty needs is underway in Saratoga, Washington and Warren counties.

“We have to work together to make sure we are promoting the available jobs, that we are offering training and helping cover the costs of training," Ochsendorf said.

The director of Workforce Development in Warren County said you don’t have to go far to find a job behind the wheel.

“There are so many opportunities, and it’s really the advantage of the job-seeker,” she said.

It’s a job that's often described as being part of the nation’s backbone.

“Having more CDL drivers will ultimately help us with supply and demand, and inflation,” Ochsendorf said. “Anybody looking for a career change, somebody tired of being sedentary in an office and they want to be out and about and really get out and see our beautiful region, being a truck driver allows you to do that.”