In the logistics industry a
dearth of skills is only part of
the problem
More critical, says
CEO of training provider
Metrominds, Juliette Fourie,
is the huge gap between any
tertiary qualification and the
world of work.
“A study undertaken by
the Aberdeen Group (2013)
indicated that only 10% of
researched organisations said
that their new, inexperienced
job-entrants were ready to
contribute and perform from
their joining time,” Fourie told
FTW.
“Researching and analysing
this ourselves, we discovered
that new entrants lacked
critical thinking, industry
experience, general business
acumen and personal
leadership ability.”
All of which can be
addressed in a simulated
environment, according to
Fourie.
“Our Workplace Simulator is a
recent addition to our portfolio and is
designed to achieve higher performing
and more productive job entrants
into the market, creating skilled and
qualified talent for the industry in a
range of disciplines – from forwarding
and customs to sales,
finance and supply
chain. The simulated
environment provides
the benefit of constant,
consistent and
immediate feedback,
preventing errors or
mistakes in the future.
“The logistic
simulation has
been academically
researched and we have
almost completed our second successful
group of students. It includes multiple
scenarios that reflect the reality in the
workplace – from dealings with clients
and following the generic process of
trade to completion of documents
and operating in warehousing and
distribution facilities. In fact it
encompasses all the activities that new
entrants into the freight forwarding and
logistics industry would be doing.”
It’s key to mitigating errors, says
Fourie who believes that the importance
of getting it right first time is
underscored by the outcome if anything
goes wrong and things land up in the
International Court
of Arbitration® which
leads the resolution
of international trade
disputes.
Metro Minds offers
an end-to-end training
solution that covers the
many disciplines in the
logistics industry. “This
ranges from identifying
the skills gaps to
executing fit for purpose
programmes to improve companies’
talent pools,” says Fourie.
“We are extremely passionate
about education and have therefore
restructured our business to be a BEE
Level 2 contributor so that most of our
profits are allocated to an Education
and Empowering Trust to benefit a
larger society.”
Logistics simulation
is key to mitigating
errors.
– Juliette Fourie
