Inbound Logistics | June 2023

“By working together, they can optimize what’s being taught with what's required in practice,” Blust says. “It’s a symbiotic relationship.” It has never been more important for supply chain companies to engage with educational programs. “The complexities and rapid changes in supply chain management are making it even more important for companies to stay in touch, stay current, stay relevant, and help provide the right education for the right people so that they, in turn, can provide the right services for their customers,” Blust says. “Finding individuals who are able to deal with changes in technology and communications is important to stay relevant,” he adds. “Without communicating with the younger generation and knowing what’s going on, companies quickly can fall out of relevance.” MANY AVENUES OF ENGAGEMENT Companies and organizations in the supply chain partner with educational institutions in a variety of ways. o9 Solutions works with many different schools across the United States and Europe. For instance, the company works with the MIT Global Scale Network by sponsoring and providing data for a supply chain challenge and delivering guest lectures that focus on success stories and lessons learned. Among the Containerization & Intermodal Institute’s academic outreach efforts is a highly active scholarship program that has run since 1992. The

Brett Bennett, senior vice president and general manager of Crowley Logistics, engages students at the Crowley Center for Transportation and Logistics with sessions on supply chain, sustainability, marketing, IT, and human resources.

development content ranging from entry-level foundational education to supply chain professional certication. A key to successfully creating that content is analyzing what the market needs for practitioners to be successful and keeping up with new trends and developments. REACHING NEW TEAM MEMBERS The programs and audience for ASCM educational content can vary but together they illustrate the breadth of ways to reach potential supply chain team members. For instance, ASCM works with North Central Texas College to help equip immigrants from Mexico with the skills and background to work in logistics and warehousing. Internships and apprenticeships are among the more powerful forms of outreach and can serve as “crystallizing opportunities for students,” says Amy Grat, CEO of EXP, a Southern California-based nonprot that helps schools deliver career-based curriculum. An internship can prove transformative for students, helping them gain new condence and demystifying a career in the supply chain, she says. Apprenticeships are where “the earning and learning become truly integrated,” Grat says, allowing students to enter clearly laid out career pathways with assurance. Companies that offer internships and apprenticeships reduce the skills gap for their new team members and help to create better- prepared, more condent workers. Although supply chain companies that partner with schools often focus on two-year and four-year colleges and

organization oversaw the granting of 46 scholarships to students at 12 different schools in 2022. Crowley has supported funding and scholarships for maritime and logistics students who will be on board ships, designing vessels, managing technology and data analytics, and directing multimodal supply chains and their facilities. Most prominently, Crowley’s partnership with schools includes a $2.5 million endowment to the University of North Florida for the Crowley Center for Transportation and Logistics at the Coggin College of Business. The center’s goal is to train students to enter the global supply chain workforce, Bender says. Crowley participates by supporting faculty, visiting scholars, conducting industry research, pursuing federal grants and contracts, and recruiting students. “This effort has resulted in innovative strategies and technologies as well as research underway to improve the industry,” Bender says. ASCM creates workforce

The Association for Supply Chain Management partners with the University of Toronto on a program that targets internationally educated professionals who immigrated to Canada with no prior supply chain experience.

82 Inbound Logistics • June 2023