In the logistics industry a dearth of skills is only part of the problem. More critical, says CEO of training provider Metro Minds, Juliette Fourie, is the huge gap between any tertiary qualification and the world of work. “A study undertaken by the Aberdeen Group (2013) indicated that only 10% of researched organisations said that their new, inexperienced job-entrants were ready to contribute and perform from their joining time,” Fourie told FTW.
“Researching and analysing this ourselves, we discovered that new entrants lacked critical thinking, industry experience, general business acumen and personal leadership ability.” All of which can be addressed in a simulated environment, according to Fourie. “Our Workplace Simulator is a recent addition to our portfolio and is designed to achieve higher performing and more productive job entrants into the market, creating skilled and qualified talent for the industry in a range of disciplines – from forwarding and customs to sales, finance and supply chain. The simulated environment provides the benefit of constant, consistent and immediate feedback, preventing errors or mistakes in the future.”
“The logistic simulation has been academically researched and we have almost completed our second successful group of students. It includes multiple scenarios that reflect the reality in the workplace – from dealings with clients and following the generic process of trade to completion of documents and operating in warehousing and distribution facilities. In fact it encompasses all the activities that new entrants into the freight forwarding and logistics industry would be doing.”
It’s key to mitigating errors, says Fourie who believes that the importance of getting it right first time is underscored by the outcome if anything goes wrong and things land up in the International Court of Arbitration® which leads the resolution of international trade disputes. Metro Minds offers an end-to-end training solution that covers the many disciplines in the logistics industry. “This ranges from identifying the skills gaps to executing fit-for-purpose programmes to improve companies’ talent pools,” says Fourie.“We are extremely passionate about education and have therefore restructured our business to be a BEE Level 2 contributor so that most of our profits are allocated to an Education and Empowering Trust to benefit a larger society.”
