Stuart Blair’s Post

𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐆𝐚𝐩 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 & 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭… I've had the privilege of engaging with industry leaders like Charles Menkhorst, Simon Aynsley, Pieter Spaarwater, DBA, Nelson Coe, Don Schoenl, David Eustace, and Sunil Kumar in my ongoing Talent Gap series. Each discussion has shed light on the challenges and opportunities within the logistics industry regarding talent. As a summary, below are some takeaways from the discussions: 🔹 The Talent Gap continues to worsen, and this has affected all levels from entry level positions to the senior executive leaders. 🔹 Discussions on education, training, and the role of digital transformation are paramount in reshaping the ever changing talent requirements in the industry. 🔹 To bridge the gap there is a need to make the industry more attractive to younger generations by showcasing its global impact and opportunities for growth. I'm excited to announce that I'll be compiling these insights and more into an upcoming article, where I'll delve deeper into the solutions proposed and the path forward for bridging the talent gap in the logistics & supply chain space. Stay tuned for the article release! Meanwhile, I invite you to share your thoughts and insights in the comments below. Your input is invaluable as we navigate these critical issues together. #talentgap #industryarticle #logistics #attractingtalent

𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐆𝐀𝐏 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝟕 with Charles Menkhorst 🌍 I recently got to speak with Charles, a leading C-Level executive across the logistics space, where we explored the talent gap discussion. Charles and I delved into the issues facing the industry from a talent perspective where he was able to provide an excellent insight into the experiences he has had, below is a summary of the discussion: 🔹 Charles, like all guests so far, believes there is a significant talent gap and actually feels this had gap has “widened” during the last 5-10 years. 🔹 This gap exists across the board, from a lower operational level all the way up to a senior executive level. 🔹 The reasons for why it has worsened are different at the differing levels of seniority. That being the said the overall attractiveness of the industry does play a key role at all levels. 🔹 The industry not being “attractive” has cropped up numerous times – Charles believes, like others, that the industry allows you to feel the pulse of the global economy and has numerous attractive qualities but the issue is displaying them to the younger generation. From this discussion, and others I have held, it is clear that the industry has attractive qualities, but they are not being displayed (specifically to the younger generation). The logistics industry is a true global industry and as Charles mentioned being able to experience global travel was a big driver for him, but this is not as available now as it once was for the younger generation. Charles went on to explain the benefit of allowing individuals to experience “field experience” and travel to other areas globally to then bring this invaluable experience back with them. Have companies reduced this kind of exposure? Would allowing this more help attract the younger generation to the industry? Thanks again for the time, Charles! It was great to delve deeper into your opinions around the talent gap. Keep your eyes peeled for more guests and an announcement soon…. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section! #talentgap #globallogistics #closingthetalentgap #supplychain

𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐆𝐀𝐏 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝟔 with Simon Aynsley 🚢 I had the pleasure recently of speaking with a leading sales and operational professional across the logistics arena in Simon. We delved into the Talent Gap discussion, and he was able to provide a valuable insight. Below are a few key discussions points: 🔹 It shouldn’t come as a surprise at this stage, but Simon feels there is a talent gap in the industry. 🔹 Several factors play into this and one area we discussed was COVID, it played a key role in demonstrating the integral nature the supply chain industry plays in the world and potentially how over the years it hasn’t received the attention it deserves. 🔹 This lack of attention has influenced a lack of talent and lack of experience in the industry. 🔹 Throughout his career, Simon has seen a talent gap. A big reason being down to the industry not having the image other industries have. 🔹 On top of this, a lack of education and formal qualifications within logistics & supply chain and global trade. The industry is forced to take young talent from other areas and have to train them up on the job. We continued our discussion surrounding what can be done, following on from above introducing more qualifications/certifications in the industry could help train young individuals to be more equipped to hit the ground running. The other big question is whether the industry can develop its image to be more attractive to the younger generation – this is obviously more challenging than simply providing better education. It would require a complete mindset change, but how can you do that? This is no mean feat; however, Simon brings up an excellent point – “𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑠, 𝑔𝑒𝑜-𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠, 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒, 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑙𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑙 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔”. Naturally everyone I have spoken to so far, including Simon, find this industry we operate in a fascinating one – and the above quote encompasses perfectly why! Formalising education to encourage young people to want to enter the industry is one solution but what else can be done to attract people to this great industry? I would love to the hear the opinions of my network – please do comment below or drop me a message on LinkedIn. Thanks again for the time Simon, it was a pleasure! #talentgap #logistics #shipping

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜... I am sure everyone has noticed the miniseries I am running on the talent gap (well I hope you have anyway…). I have had the chance to connect with some excellent senior leaders in the industry and in my discussions, I have noticed the opportunity to pivot into a new topic. The question is what should that topic be, and I would love to get the opinion of my network. Below are a few options but do let me know if you can think of anything else worth debating. But do not fear, the talent gap discussion is continuing, and more episodes are to follow soon… Please drop a comment below with your thoughts and do reach out if you wish to be involved. #talentgap #newdiscussions #logistictopics

𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐆𝐀𝐏 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝟓 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 Pieter Spaarwater, DBA💡 My miniseries on the talent gap continues and I was lucky enough to be joined by another senior level guest in Pieter, who has an array of executive experience across the Middle East and Africa within the logistics arena. Below is a brief on the points we discussed: 🔹 Pieter (like everyone so far who I have connected with) agrees there is a talent gap in the industry as we speak. 🔹 We discussed the digital transformation that is occurring in the industry currently, with the ramp up moving from manual systems to the digital world, talent could be getting left behind or the need for new talent could be arising. 🔹 Looking at this further, it is important that talent is prepared for the new age that we find ourselves in and the one we are approaching. 🔹 This could be tackled by on the job training or classroom training before young individuals even make their way into the industry. 🔹 Pieter touched on his own challenges that he has faced in the industry when it comes to not only challenges at the entry level but the challenges at the leadership level also. I really appreciate the time, Pieter, and the valuable insight that you provided. We had the chance to discuss numerous angles surrounding the talent gap and the only shame is we couldn’t explore certain areas further. Regarding the digital transformation that the industry is undergoing and how this is linked to the talent gap, I would be interested to hear the thoughts of my connections further. 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐎𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞-𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐭? Please leave your thoughts below! Keep your eyes peeled for another episode to follow! #talentgap #logisticstalent #talentdiscussion

𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐆𝐀𝐏 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝟒 – Nelson Coe I am back again with an episode in my Talent Gap miniseries, and I had the great pleasure of connecting with Nelson Coe – an industry leader within logistics & supply chain space. We had a great discussion surrounding the talent gap and below is a snapshot as to what we discussed. 🔹 Nelson, along with all my guests so far, feels a talent gap exists. 🔹 As he correctly said, the industry is always growing and that comes with its challenges, but training needs to be improved to assist those entering the industry on how a business operates. 🔹 On top of this, mentorship is vital in companies to assist young professionals in getting up to speed. This is something that Nelson had when he first started and is an area that could not be as paramount as it once was. An area we touched on was tenure within the industry now and how young professionals who chase the money do not often stay at companies that long. I see two points that need to be looked at around that issue: 𝟏. It is hard to develop a young individual into a senior leader within your company if they do not have the motivation to stay the course and develop themselves. Nelson is a great example of someone who stayed the course with a company, and I am sure this played a vital role in getting him to where he is today 𝟐. If you look at it from the other perspective, do companies in the industry need to do more to keep young talent and avoid them making the jump? I would be very interested to hear the opinions of my network on this. Massive thank you to Nelson for providing another great insight and a different opinion on the topic! More discussions to come soon… #talentgap #logisticsindustry #industryissues

TALENT GAP MINISERIES EPISODE 3 with Don Schoenl ❄⛓ We are back with another episode in my Talent Gap miniseries, and I had the pleasure of speaking with Don, President at Agile Cold Storage. Don is a key senior leader in the Cold Chain arena and put together some very interesting points which I have summarized below: 🔹 Don, like everyone so far, believes there is a “talent gap” in the industry. 🔹 A key reason he puts is the fact the logistics/cold storage space is having to compete aggressively with other industries for young and exciting talent. 🔹 Don would at one point mainly compete with dry storage companies for talent but with the technology advancements the industry is making, like Agile Cold Storage, their talent pool is now different and the companies they are competing with has also changed. 🔹 He feels one way the Cold Storage industry can tackle this issue is to demonstrate the stability of the industry but also make it clear to young professionals that they can grow and develop in this industry. A very interesting insight, I spoke about the technology advancements Cold Storage was making in one of my previous posts, but I never once considered it as potentially adding hurdles in the recruitment of young talent. Are these advancements almost acting as a double edged sword? When I think into it more this is a challenge that recruiters such as myself also face, when it comes to finding tenured talent to remain in the logistics industry when other industries are advancing quicker on the technology front. I am sure Daniel Allcock (our leader in the Automation recruitment space) will have an opinion on this matter…. Thanks again Don, it was great to connect, and I appreciate the time. If anyone has an opinion please do let me know in the comments below! New episode to follow soon…. #coldchain #talentgap #logisticsrecritment

𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐆𝐀𝐏 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝟐 with David Eustace 💭 It’s been a while since the first episode but following the excellent response to that discussion I come back with the next episode in my quickfire series! I had the pleasure of connecting with David Eustace of EU37 Logistics & Consultancy where we discussed the talent gap in the logistics industry further. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰: 🔹 David feels a talent gap exists and named a few reasons, a couple being the financial reward and whether the industry is marketed in the correct way. 🔹 Industries such as finance and education are marketed much better – along with others. 🔹 Individuals and companies making a more active visit to graduates or universities could be a solution to attract these young people to the industry. Expanding on the discussion, I’m particularly interested on whether the industry is “marketed” in the right way. Personally, I would have to agree with David, and I think the image of the industry really needs to be worked on to attract younger talent. We come back to the question on whether the industry is “sexy enough”? Do young people grow up wanting to be a logistician? I am interested to hear the thoughts of my network on the above. David suggested active visits to universities etc but do you have any other solutions that come to mind? Thanks again David, it was great to connect, and I appreciate the time. I would strongly recommend everyone check out EU37 Logistics & Consultancy and the great work they are doing. New episode to follow soon…. #talentgap #logisticstalent #graduates

𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞?....   I have been keeping a close eye on the cold storage space and my last two posts around it has been focused on the high demand, growth and incorporation of new technologies. This year I have had discussions with leaders in the industry and they have championed the strong runway for the industry but naturally you would think there are challenges that the industry needs to keep an eye on and overcome to continue the development its experiencing. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝: 🔹 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲: Balancing low temperatures with sustainable energy practices poses operational and environmental challenges. 🔹 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: Meeting diverse regulations on food safety, labelling, and worker safety requires continuous diligence. 🔹 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬: As discussed, the industry is in growth mode, this naturally results in a need to invest in new facilities and finding suitable locations with transportation access is a challenge. 🔹 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Introducing new technology is exciting and important but the rapid changes require the business to continually seek to always improve and be adaptable. 🔹 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Like any area of logistics factors like weather events, transportation delays, and public health crises disrupt operations, requiring robust risk management to be in place. Out of interest, does anyone in my network have knowledge on how much more energy/fuel it takes to transport cold storage vs the equivalent normal cargo? As always please do let me know any other challenges that come to mind! #coldstorage #logisticchallenges #coldchain