De Producten van DJ, Inc.

Tegen eind dit decennium - dat is slechts twee korte jaren weg - de de industriedeskundigen voorspellen een 50% tekort van materiële behandelingsarbeiders. De tekorten van de arbeider worden reeds gevoeld in productie, logistiek, vervoers, pakhuis en vervulling trefpunten; en het gaat slechts (zie ons 3 November post) slechter worden. De industrie van de Materiële Behandeling van Amerika (MHIA) en andere de industrieleiders staan aan de spits van initiatieven om voorlichting van de kansen van de materiële behandelingsbaan in scholen en de universiteiten van Amerika te bouwen de hoge, maar zij kunnen niet het alleen doen. Elk van ons moet werken om de publieke opinie te veranderen en jonge mensen te verleiden in onze industrie als wij moeten overleven.

Bij de bouw van voorlichting van baankans in de materiële behandelingsindustrie, zullen wij ons beeld met schooladviseurs, studenten en het publiek bij groot moeten bijwerken. Onze inspanningen worden om nieuwe arbeiders aan te trekken belast door de verouderde waarneming van materiële behandelingsarbeiders als ongeschoolde handlaborers die bij de bodem van de betaling en voordeelschaal achterblijven. De tijden zijn veranderd. De materiële behandelingsbanen bieden goed aan betalen, goede voordelen en een groei-industrie, aantrekkelijke triumvirate, in het bijzonder tijdens de huidige economische daling die vele industrieën dwingt om arbeiders op non-actief te stellen.

Van toegevoegd voordeel is de capaciteit van materiële behandeling om banen over het onderwijsspectrum aan te bieden. Terwijl de universiteit grads en MBAs meer en meer onze industrie bevolken, is er nog grote appreciatie voor het individu dat zich net in het aantal arbeidskrachten uit hoge school beweegt, die wordt bepaald om iets van zijn leven hard te werken en te maken. Het is met hoeveel van de leiders van vandaag in de materiële behandelingsindustrie hun begin kregen, en wij hebben niet vergeten. De stijgende nadruk op automatisering en systeemintegratie in zou onze industrie op computer-savvy teens en 20 moeten een beroep doen iets in evenwicht gehouden om het aantal arbeidskrachten in te gaan. De materiële behandelingsbanen kunnen jonge mensen de kans bieden om directe beloning van hun wonderbaarlijke self-taught computervaardigheden te oogsten. En vele werkgevers zullen arbeidersverhoging helpen en verbeteren zowel hun technische als bedrijfsvaardigheden door onderwijshulpprogramma's. „U leert terwijl u“ benadering bijzonder een beroep doend kunt zijn tijdens een taaie economie verdient.

Zo hoe kunt u het woord weggaan helpen? Visit guidance counselors at local high schools, tech schools and community colleges. Let them know what material handling has to offer their students and leave some brochures they can pass out to students. Volunteer to speak at career day programs. This is a great opportunity to talk directly to students. Invite vocational high school or community college classes on a tour of your facilities and explain job opportunities. Offer summer internships or initiate a co-op (work/study) program through local high schools, community colleges or universities.  This is time-honored way to give interested students a taste of the real work world, and many co-op students become full-time employees.

Attracting future workers to the material handling industry is everyone’s job. Get out there in your community and start spreading the word. Our future depends on it.

Material handling offers good growth potential now and for the future. It is also becoming increasingly automated and technical (see our Sept. 29 post). So how can students interested in material handling as a growth career and current workers who want to move up position themselves to be in demand by employers today and into the future?

Industry experts agree that education is the key. While a high school diploma can still get you an entry-level job on the warehouse floor, it will take certified skills to maintain that job as the level of technology accelerates through the material handling, warehousing and logistics industries. Moving up the corporate ladder will increasingly require a bachelor’s degree. If you aspire to a management position, plan on putting in that extra year or two to get your MBA. Some colleges now offer concurrent bachelor/MBA programs and many offer night, weekend and online courses. Executive MBA programs geared to working business professionals provide an accelerated path to a higher degree by recognizing acquired experiential knowledge.

“Going into the future, not many people will have much success in their career progression without professional development of some kind,” warned Mark Ensby, director of Clarkson University’s Engineering & Global Operations Management Department. “The three most important credentialing letters today seem to be ‘MBA.’”

As automation and the global economy drive industry to greater integration, versatility and cross-industry knowledge will be increasingly valued. Students who combine material handling courses with industrial engineering, logistics, supply chain, warehousing, project management and computer systems studies will best position themselves for the future.

Partnerships between industry associations and universities are also expected to increase experiential learning. As it moves toward the future, material handling and associated industrial engineering industries will be looking for graduates with experiential learning, not just theoretical knowledge. “Associations like MHIA are going to play more and more of an important role in leveraging universities as the provider of skilled employees,” predicted Dan Boos, president of consulting firm Gorillas and Gazelles.

Mark Tomlinson, executive director of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, has called for public schools to place greater emphasis on manufacturing as a viable career choice. Industry pressure is expected to increase two-year technical training opportunities in manufacturing, material handling, and industrial engineering fields. Tech schools, some beginning at the high school level, are seen as a quick way of solving the looming worker shortage in these industries. “The challenge is there just isn’t going to be enough of anybody for what’s needed,” Boos said.

“Over their lifetime, many of them (high school grads) will earn more because they started working sooner than those who took four or five years to finish college,” Tomlinson pointed out. “So we’ve got to get away from a good job/bad job mindset and encourage people to get some training.”

Particularly in a tight economy everyone wants to know where the jobs are and where they’re going to be for the next decade or so. Material handling and the related fields of logistics and warehousing are growth industries that offer good job potential now and into the future. International development is predicted to drive 5% annual growth in the worldwide material handling industry for each of the next five years (see our Sept. 22 post). In the U.S. retiring baby boomers are creating critical worker shortages in logistics and warehousing. However, automation and increasingly sophisticated technology are also creating a need for more highly skilled and more highly educated workers.

While the value of experiential education is still recognized, a bachelor’s degree is the new entre into a professional career; and a master’s degree, the ticket to climbing the career ladder, according to Mike Ensby of Clarkson University’s Engineering & Global Operations Management Department. “The three most important credentialing letters today seem to be ‘MBA,’” he said in a recent interview with Modern Materials Handling, particularly if you’re aiming for the boardroom.

Companies do still hire people right out of high school, and many professionals who began their own careers that way seem to place greater value on certified skills than college degrees. But material handling is in a state of transition. Industry experts say the drive to automation and integrated systems will increasingly demand a workforce with advanced technical skills. Tomorrow’s warehouse worker is more apt to operate a computer than a forklift.

In the coming decade, high school grads may find themselves stuck in a career track that rarely rises above skilled labor, such as order fulfillment. “Going into the future, not many people will have much success in their career progression without professional development of some kind,” Ensby said.

Next time: What courses will catapult your material handling career to success? What will employers be looking for?