Global skills chasm gets wider and wider

Enticing more young people into the logistics sector should be the focus of not just universities and colleges but the industry in general. According to Professor James Stock of the University of South Florida, this will be the only way to truly address the massive skills shortage the industry is trying to overcome globally. “In the US there is a critical shortage of truck drivers, with the average age of drivers being over 50. As the drivers are ageing and leaving the profession, not enough young people are considering truck driving as an exciting career.” Having recently launched a research unit at the University of South Florida, he said there was a lot of involvement from the private sector with the unit. “Business has to become more involved with the training of people for this sector if we are truly going to address the skills shortages we face. Unless we entice young people from a very early age to consider logistics as a career we are going to have a major talent shortage on our hands.” He said it was important to ensure an expansion of educational systems at all levels including colleges, universities and trade schools. “We need to be looking at the youth long before they arrive at college, introducing them to the various careers in the logistics sector. And the private sector has a role to play in this.” Stock said in America – as in Africa – the skills shortages was a very real threat. “In the US alone the logistics sector is predicted to create more than 1 million jobs between 2013 and 2016 but the nation’s colleges and universities are only expected to generate 75 000 workers annually during that same time period. So the question arises, where are the rest of the workers going to come from – on the job training, maybe directly from school?” Stock said it was essential that the private sector started working with universities to address the talent shortages faced the world over. “At the same time we need to take into consideration that the industry today requires a very different set of skills than 30 years ago and therefore we need to ensure we are equipping new entrants into our sector with the right skills.” Stock said the logistics sector had come into its own in recent years with many company CEOs and MDs having a background in logistics. “Logisticians are boundary spanners who integrate multiple things – qualities that make for great executives,” he said. And this was a carrot to enticing more people to consider logistics as a career. “We need to introduce young people to these aspects of the logistics sector. Too few are realising the potential of supply chain management and logistics as a career, while at the same time we have to do more for those people already in the profession. There needs to be a much higher focus on training and certification programmes.” INSERT & CAPTION The US logistics sector is predicted to create more than 1 million jobs between 2013 and 2016 but universities are expected to generate 75 000 workers annually. – James Stock