Research examines skills shortages in modern supply chain workforce
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A new research report has revealed new insights into the skills shortages issue in today’s supply chain workforce, listing truck driving, robotics, and data analytics as the biggest skills gaps.
As the world’s supply chains undergo massive and rapid transformation, recent events have only exacerbated the matter of labour shortages in the industry.
This is on top of other ongoing challenges such as an increasingly volatile geopolitical situation, an explosion in technologies and an increased focus on sustainability.
Recent research undertaken by Deakin University’s Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics and Wayfinder: Supply Chain Careers for Women, an industry sponsored initiative which aims to create a diverse talent pipeline for the sector, explored the issue from the perspective of company executives and senior government officials.
Dr Hermione Parsons, Director Centre of Supply Chain and Logistics and Dr Roberto Perez-Franco, Senior Research Fellow, interviewed 21 senior executives from Australia’s industry and government about ongoing challenges and the impact of recent events on the ability to recruit and retain the workforce required for the modern supply chain sector.
“Add the disruption to global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and you have the perfect storm,” Dr Parsons said.
“An increase in e-commerce and closed borders may have exacerbated it, but the problem was already there,” she said.
“Furthermore, supply chain shortages are not just for products or freight transport, but also for people, and the problem is far more complex than a shortage of truck drivers.”
Michael Byrne, Chair of Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics Industry Advisory Board and Australia’s International Freight Controller General said that the report provides crucial insights into how businesses can maintain their competitiveness.
“This is important research, the biggest risk areas for most companies in maintaining their business competitiveness are not decisions about whether to automate or what digital systems to use, but how to attract and retain the workforce they need,” Byrne explained.
Four challenges were identified to recruiting in supply chain: poor industry image, education gaps in the candidates interviewed, poaching of staff between industries, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr Parsons, who is also lead researcher and co-chair of Wayfinder, said that traditionally supply chain has been a ‘Cinderella sector’.
“If graduates are aware of the sector at all, they see it in terms of dirty warehouses and hi-vis vests, and most ‘fall into it’ rather than actively pursue a career in supply chain,” she revealed.
Fellow researcher Dr Perez-Franco also said that many of the respondents identified a shortage of talent in data analytics.
He further explained, however, that the issue they identified is more complex than the challenge of attracting graduates with data analytics qualifications.
“The ability to understand and trust data can be just as important as the decisions about what to do with it. The greatest capacity gap is in the combination of operational supply chain knowledge and data analytics,” he said.
The research highlighted the degree to which the present industry workforce must learn new skills and constantly adapt to new ways of doing things.
Related: 9 Supply Chain Professional Skills You Need
There’s an expectation they will be tech-savvy and comfortable operating in a more automated, digitally-enabled environment and it’s a challenge that not all are prepared for.
“It will be critical to sell the next generation of supply chain workers on challenges and opportunities of a supply chain career,” Dr Parsons said.
“As well as the salary, millennials are looking for career paths that are both rewarding and flexible. Although flexibility will always be difficult in a sector that operates 24/7, it is increasingly possible in technology-driven areas where there is a capacity shortage,” she said.
She also highlighted the trend of remote work, how attitudes to this have changed, and how employing more women in operational roles is key to improving levels of diversity.
“A number of those we spoke to, acknowledged there were difficulties in attracting women to the sector, but they also acknowledged there were shifts in the right direction,” she said.
Source: Deakin University
