Staffmark

On August 31, the FMCSA shut down 110 CDL training schools in one emergency action. Those schools were linked to more than 5,000 drivers who failed roadside English-language proficiency checks.

It didn’t stop there. More than 160 other schools received proposed removal notices. Federal inspectors served notices on more than 200 driving schools in 23 states. A nationwide audit of state CDL skills testers comes next.

If you hire drivers, the hard part is this. A license can look completely valid and still sit on top of training that never happened. Confirming a driver has a CDL isn’t the same as confirming they’re qualified.

Hugh Williams, who manages our Driver Compliance Center, sees it in the files every week: “We are seeing states issuing CDLs incorrectly, medical examiners removed from the FMCSA registry, and schools removed for failing to provide required training.”

The full article covers the eight things every driver file should verify, from medical certification and Clearinghouse status to whether the documents actually agree with each other. It also covers what we do when a driver doesn’t check out.

🔗 https://staffmark.com/your-driver-has-a-cdl-is-that-enough-why-the-stakes-just-got-higher/

November is Native American Heritage Month. Native peoples are not a chapter in the history of American work. They are working in every industry we serve today, from skilled trades and healthcare to logistics and technology, and tribal nations build and run enterprises of their own.

We're using the month to listen and learn, and to hold ourselves to a plain standard: opportunity should not depend on who you know or where you grew up.

November has 21 weekdays and one of them is Thanksgiving. For employers still finishing holiday schedules, and for anyone who wants to start a new role before the year ends, that is a short runway.

This month we're honoring National Veterans and Military Families Month, sharing what the November Workforce Optics found, and finishing our peak-season hiring push. Pick your first move today.

Week one of the Job Fest 2026 Sweepstakes is in the books, and these are the first winners. Congratulations to this week’s winners! Just a few more weeks to go. Remember, every week you work 32 hours, you’re entered again.

No purchase necessary. Official rules: staffmark.com/job-fest-terms-and-conditions.

Posting a job you aren’t actually filling can cost more than you think. “Ghost jobs” – openings that remain advertised without resulting in a hire – are attracting greater scrutiny as candidates navigate an already difficult job market.

But regulation isn’t the only risk. Repeatedly advertising jobs that never appear to be filled can erode candidate trust and damage employer reputation.

Today’s applicant could be tomorrow’s hard-to-find hire.

Read more in Workforce Optics: https://staffmark.com/workforce-optics-october-2026/

Companies are raising concerns about communication, professionalism and critical thinking among early-career talent. At the same time, those are exactly the human capabilities becoming more valuable as AI takes on more technical and routine work.

The challenge for employers is two-sided: hire for the skills that matter, but recognize that early-career employees still need opportunities to develop them.

Entry-level talent isn’t supposed to arrive fully formed.

Read more in Workforce Optics: https://staffmark.com/workforce-optics-october-2026/

Warehouse and light industrial shifts are opening up fast as peak season ramps in. If you want in before the good shifts fill, this week is the week to apply, not next month. https://staffmark.com/job-seekers/

Interest in trade careers is growing, but demand is growing faster. Research cited in this month’s Workforce Optics estimates a shortage of 1.3 million skilled workers annually at current enrollment rates. And with more than a quarter of skilled-trade workers approaching retirement, demographics could make the gap even harder to close.

As companies invest in data centers, manufacturing facilities and infrastructure, the talent employers struggle to find may increasingly be the hands-on skills technology can’t easily replace.

Read more in Workforce Optics: https://staffmark.com/workforce-optics-october-2026/

We are proud to share our Sustainability Progress Report FY2025: it highlights how we put people at the heart of sustainable progress.

Discover how we are shaping a future of work that is more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.
🔗 https://smgroupna.com/sustainability-progress-report-people-at-the-heart-of-sustainable-progress/

Sustainability Progress Report: people at the heart of sustainable progress We are proud to share our Sustainability Progress Report FY2025: it highlights how we put people at the heart of sustainable progress. Discover how we are shaping a future of work that is more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.

Two names on this year’s SIA's Global Power 150 Women in Staffing list will look familiar: our CEO, Stacey Lane, and Executive Vice President Barbara Simmer.

The list is in its 12th year. It recognizes 150 women from staffing firms around the world whose leadership has made a measurable difference to their companies and to the industry.

Stacey has led Staffmark Group through a period of real change. Throughout it, she has held that technology should make room for the human connections this work depends on. Barbara has driven our sales and recruiting performance and helped our teams put new tools to practical use for clients and the people we place.

Congratulations, Stacey and Barbara!

Read more: https://smgroupna.com/staffmark-group-leaders-named-to-sias-2026-global-power-150-women-in-staffing/