RISING DEMAND IN SUPPLY
This sector seeks workers from all backgrounds, Melanie Burgess reports
SUPPLY chain and logistics jobs are forecast for strong growth as freight volumes increase and the work becomes more complex – but many people have not considered the industry as they do not understand what it is.
In a nutshell, supply chain is the network between a company and its suppliers used to produce and distribute a product.
Logistics refers to the production and distribution process within the company itself.
The Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics (CSCL) at Deakin University identifies career opportunities within the industry across sectors as diverse as IT, HR, manufacturing and engineering, warehousing and distribution, road, rail, air, and sea, stevedoring, customs broking, freight forwarding, retail, procurement and purchasing, and planning and scheduling.
CSCL director Hermione Parsons says supply chain companies are ex- pecting significant growth in the coming years. “Not only is the volume of freight expected to double or treble in the next 20 years but the complexity of the tasks is also (increasing),” she says.
Government data projects the number of supply, distribution and procurement managers, alone, will grow by 8600 between 2017 and 2022.
These workers come from both university (37.4 per cent) and vocational (28 per cent) backgrounds.
A CSCL career map reveals there are entry points into the supply chain industry at all educational levels.
Warehouse forklift drivers and B double/semi drivers, for example, re- quire only a licence and can start on about $60,0000 and $90,000, respectively.
Meanwhile, a freight scheduler with a certificate IV can start on about $70,000 and a ship planner with a diploma can start on about $100,000.
Workers that continue on to university and reach senior management may find themselves earning $120,000 to $200,000 as a call centre director, or $165,000 to $445,000 as a strategic sourcing director.
The supply chain workforce is currently skewed toward males, with women making up fewer than one in 10 employees in some companies