VIP Shipper Club story – Bridging the Skills Gap

ISSUE 2 / 2018

THE PUBLICATION FOR THE INDUSTRIAL PROJECT SUPPLY CHAIN INDUSTRY

ISSUE 2 / 2018

BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP News From Breakbulk Middle East

VIP SHIPPER CLUB MEMBER:

GE GAS POWER SYSTEMS ..................................................... page 64

NEWS FROM BREAKBULK MIDDLE EAST

Bridging The Skills Gap

BY CARLY FIELDS

The talent gap between developed and developing countries, changing requirements and the need to manage and retain recruits were critical employment-related issues put forward during a panel discussion about recruitment in the project logistics industry at Breakbulk Middle East 2018.

With project logistics industry stakeholders worried about a seeming “hollowing-out” of experienced project logistics practitioners, the panel discussed a set of pertinent themes for today’s logistics landscape.

The panel considered how challenging it is for engineering, procurement and construction companies, plus project owners, to find their preferred level of talent and experience – whether for their own teams or for subcontractors; whether a dwindling supply of practitioners is due to indiscriminate downsizing during the economic downturn; and how hard it is to attract new project logistics recruits.

“We have to facilitate the mobility of talent.

We need to equip the developing countries with the right tools to facilitate training for logistics.”

– Randa Hakim, GE Power Panel member Randa Hakim, regional fulfilment and logistics leader for the projects area of GE Power’s Gas Power Systems business, noted the developed/ developing countries’ talent mismatch. While developed nations are characterized by a mature workforce which has left employers wondering where the next workforce will come from, Hakim said that in developing nations there are ample young people, but the education in these nations fails to support their logistics aspirations.

“How are we going to solve that gap?” she asked. “We have to facilitate the mobility of talent. We need to equip the developing countries with the right tools to facilitate training for logistics. Ideally, educators, governments and companies have to support the next generation. This needs to be coupled with international standards of how to measure qualifications.”

NEW DEMANDS

During the discussion, Hakim also noted that a changing skill requirement was another factor driving a lack of talent, explaining that “now, we need someone who is operational but also has interpersonal skills as well.” The aging workforce is a problem – one-third is near or beyond retirement age, she added.

“There’s also a lack of development or career paths from companies, which drives people to leave. There’s also a perception that this [industry] is not as prestigious as other industries.”

Paula Boast, partner in construction, engineering and projects for the law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, said that more stringent working standards in the project logistics industry meant that the right people were needed for jobs in the sector.

“Project cargo work is complex and dangerous and has to adhere to international health and safety rules,” she said. “In doing that, we have created a new standard. You have to have the right people in the market to take these jobs. There’s a domino effect if you don’t have the right people from a legal perspective.”

Fellow panelist Chris Kent, global project director for Pentagon Freight Services, added that retention policies also need to be considered. BB

Coverage from the Conference Closing Forum, “Is a Talent Gap Hurting the Project Industry?” Pictured L-R: Paula Boast, Randa Hakim.

64 BREAKBULK MAGAZINE www.breakbulk.com

ISSUE 2 / 2018