Practical training on offer in 3PL/4PL environment

Metro Minds is currently piloting a research training project focused on practical training within a 3PL/4PL environment to get staff ready as high-performance workers even before they start at the job. This, according to Metro Minds CEO Juliette Fourie, involves setting up small business units within organisations to handle these functions, thus exposing trainees to ‘real-life’ operational scenarios. “The scope of 3PL/4PL services in education and skills development has been so focused on compliance that organisations don’t realise the kind of transformation that can be effected if they simply shift the focus a bit,” said Fourie. She said that private sector training solutions were often very rigid and did not allow businesses to adapt their ‘people development’ value chain to new and innovative solutions. “Going from 3PL to 4PL service providing, for example, is not just time-consuming but extremely costly. Practical training could potentially cut down dramatically on costs by upping operational skills,” said Fourie. She urged companies to invest in proper talent pool programmes that focused on innovative education good practices, and not to just start up a training programme but build a pipeline of talent. “This is not a quick-fix, but it is a great start. Future successors should be identified as a scarce skill to be addressed and their skills development should be a priority,” said Fourie. Evaluating whether the successor is on track is critical. “As we believe we are a 4PL training provider, Metro Minds can offer solutions in most areas of any value chain. We build relationships with enough specialists in the field to be able to accommodate our clients’ training needs.” INSERT & CAPTION Future successors should be identified as a scarce skill to be addressed and their skills development should be a priority. – Juliette Fourie