‘Skills shortage demands holistic approach’

Encouraging young people to choose freight or shipping as an employment option is high on the agenda of Samantha Konkol, owner and director of Konkol and Associates. “We are facing a huge skills shortage at present,” says Konkol. “One of the first steps in addressing that shortage is to encourage more school leavers to consider the freight industry as a career choice.” She says it is important to train more people about the industry and the various options it offers, as many are unaware of the range of jobs available. “It is about benchmarking the freight industry as a career choice for the future.” She says as much awareness as possible is being created around this. “We have met with the Department of Labour in our effort to make more people aware of the career choices available in our industry as they are also continuously meeting with young people and can carry our message across.” Konkol says it is necessary to continuously bring new recruits on board. “Our aim is to find a holistic solution that addresses the various needs of the industry. It is about ensuring we have the necessary skills in hand for the future and for that we need more young people to choose freight as a career.” The company offers recruitment, search and selection services as well as outsourced human resources solutions for small- to medium-sized enterprises.