April President's Message:

According to the US Department of Labor, the logistics sector will create more than 1 million jobs through 2016. To complicate matters, there is a skills gap in logistics, so recruiting proven and experienced professionals has become a priority for many companies. With competition for talent increasing, organizations must attract talent who will be the most productive in the position they are placed. The biggest challenge is deciding what qualities and skills are most important to meeting company objectives. A company’s ideal candidate will be a combination of educational background, skills, work experience and personality.

Many top companies are leading the world in developing and training a world-class workforce through apprenticeship models. Some companies have established partnerships outside of their own walls to develop programs for training their workforce. In today’s workforce climate there has never been more of a need for employers to invest in and support programs and resources that will provide the necessary education and training to improve the quality of the labor pool. Some programs even begin at the high school level, which is great.

The time has come that we must reach beyond our role in just process and performance efficiency and become drivers of foundational relationships. To remain viable, organizations must carefully evaluate the fundamental balance between flexibility and control to gain a position of competitive advantage.

This cannot be accomplished by the efforts of one individual, one program, one company, or one initiative. The overall growth of our workforce must be a collaborative effort that is ongoing and strategically planned, as a community investment. We must invest in our industry with as much gusto as we would like our industry to provide returns

The primary mission of the Savannah Traffic Club is to promote educational programs and encourage the free exchange of commerce relative to the logistics industry. We do this through our membership and the various events and activities held throughout the year. I appeal to you to join us as a member at each and every event to make your investment into the industry as well as the community, not just for today, but for the future of what we all would like to be a part of.

Our scholarship recipients are representative of the logistics leaders of the future. You all can feel a sense of pride in knowing that your investment assists them in achieving their goals, just like the scholarship recipients before them. But our responsibility does not stop here.

We have a continued responsibility to address the ongoing needs of our industry and workforce, not only through the scholarship fund of the Traffic Club, but also through various other organizations within our community who are making an impact.

Thank you for your support and membership in the Savannah Traffic Club and please be reminded that all memberships must be renewed as of April 1 for the current membership year. If you are not yet a member, we would love to have you join so we may notify you of all events and information along the way.

I hope to see you all at the golf tournament on May 8th and the Quarterly Business Spotlight on May 28th!

Susan

President's Message: Susan L. Barnard, STC President