Skills challenge constrains continent's growth

Ask most managers in the African freight and logistics sector what their biggest challenge is, and most will answer “skills,” followed by corruption, customs and infrastructure. Billions are being invested in port and infrastructure upgrades across Africa, but the full benefits will only be felt if the continent has the right skills to ensure the smooth f low of goods. The problem starts in South Africa, where a widening supply chain skills gap was identified in the 2012 Supply Chain Skills Gap Survey conducted by University of Johannesburg researchers Rose Luke and Gert Heyns. According to Barloworld Logistics’ 2013 Supply Chain Foresight report, the supply chain skills shortage is viewed as one of the top five constraints to South African supply chains and the single biggest constraint to competitiveness. Most companies have in-house training programmes, but the research shows that this is not enough. For the industry – and African economies – to prosper, they have to attract more of the best and brightest. In a global survey by John Manners-Bell of 300 logistics executives, roughly two thirds claimed that they had a problem filling posts. Manners Bell is the editor and chief executive officer of UK-based Transport Intelligence. He said the executives attributed the shortage of candidates mainly to an inadequate supply of good candidates, low average wages and the industry’s relatively poor profile as an employer. As Manners-Bell points out, skills is the one area over which logistics companies have the most control. “The industry can inf luence many of the issues identified, such as the matter of low pay. The industry needs to escape from the low pay-low quality cycle trapping it in many parts of the world. Logistics companies, their clients and governments can all play a role in this. “The industry can also work on improving its low profile in educational establishments and its poor image. Far more needs to be done if the brightest candidates are to be tempted away from careers elsewhere, such as in high-tech or banking sectors,” he says in a paper published in the 2012 Outlook on the Logistics and Supply Chain Industry published by the World Economic Forum. Addressing the skills gap is, however, a joint effort according to Vineet Agarwal, joint managing director of the Transport Corporation of India. Writing in the report, he says “with growing complexity in managing supply chains and changing demands, people issues are taking precedence. The government and private entities need to combine forces to create focused, sustained skilling and training programmes”. For all parties the incentive is greater productivity and improving the competitiveness of African manufacturing and supply chains. In their study “What Constrains Africa’s Exports?”, Caroline Freund and Nadia Rocha estimate that every extra day it takes to get a consignment to its destination in Africa is equivalent to a .5% additional tax. This means that even if tariffs on exports were zero, African exporters would be at a cost disadvantage. Skills training in Africa needs to take into consideration the unique circumstances in each country. Many of the youngsters will have grown up in an era where private sector jobs were few and far between. They enter the job market with a very different concept of what “work” is compared to those who have seen family members working in the profit-driven private sector. Knowing how to work, and what is expected, is perhaps the primary skill that needs to be taught. INSERT Every extra day it takes to get a consignment to its destination in Africa is equivalent to a .5% additional tax.