Global transportation and logistics companies will need to find more than 17 million more workers over the next 10 years. However, the industry has an image problem and needs a complete makeover to remain competitive, according to a new report by professional service firm PwC.

The report says that global trade in goods and services is likely to increase more than threefold to $27 trillion (about R230 trillion) in 2030, which is putting pressure on the transport and logistics industry to keep goods flowing.

It says the logistics sector is already struggling to find workers with the requisite skills to handle the entire supply chain, adding that last year drivers already belonged to the top 10 jobs that employers were having difficulty filling among 36 countries worldwide.

“Companies that plan to expand in fast-growing emerging markets, whether domestic or international, will need to have considerable success recruiting promising employees and developing them once they’re on board. And training programmes will also need to play a major role,” it says.

The study quotes a UN report stating that the shortage is already stifling overall economic growth in South Africa.

The report, titled Transportation & Logistics 2030 Volume 5: Winning The Talent Race, says that salary will remain one of the most important factors in hiring and retaining a skilled workforce.

Transportation and logistics companies around the world pay lower wages than companies in many other industries.

However, the report says companies in some transportation and logistics sectors are already raising salaries to fight labour shortages.

It says the average annual salary for a logistics professional in the US, for example, increased by 45 percent between 1996 and 2004. It has grown another 13 percent since 2007 after a three-year period of stagnation.

The survey also confirms the shortage of skilled employees in South Africa and that transportation and logistics companies are lagging behind other sectors in terms of recruiting and hiring staff.

Akhter Moosa, the transport and logistics leader for PwC Southern Africa, said yesterday that the findings of the study were hugely significant for the transport and logistics sector and showed what must be done before the industry fell into a critical state.

 

 

Source: http://www.iol.co.za