Supporting rising stars, inspiring the next generation of professionals and bringing new ideas and energy into the industry are all crucially important to the breakbulk sector, which is why the 2019 conference programme at AntwerpXL included a roundtable dedicated solely to NextGen.
Chaired by Sue Terpilowski OBE, Managing Director at Image Line Communications, President of WISTA UK and Chair at Maritime UK’s Women’s Taskforce, the working lunch session explored new ways of thinking, working and collaborating with the next generation of breakbulk professionals.
‘How will the industry adapt to new market conditions, new technologies and NextGen influences?’ was the title of the roundtable, which was split into three distinct areas – career progression, what an attractive employer looks like, and starting a career in the industry.
Here, we take a look at the key points made in each of the discussions.
Sue Terpilowski was joined by a mix of new starters and experienced professionals for the first session. Many young people in attendance had become involved in breakbulk logistics either though education, by going through an internship programme or simply by accident.
Career progression in breakbulk logistics depends on the following three main factors, according to participants. When any of the below criteria are missing in a role, this is when talented professionals will look elsewhere.
i) Management support and career planning
Supporting new starters through coaching, education and training programmes, and by creating opportunities, is a vital part of retaining talent.
ii) Innovation
Companies must be ready for a ‘VUCA’ world (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) and should be able to successfully adapt to implement change. Exchanging resources between companies is one way that the industry can come together to drive innovation forward.
iii) Employee participation
Implementing a ‘bottom-up’ approach is preferred to a ‘top-down’ strategy. Employers need to be careful to bridge the gap between employees involved in operations on the ground and the office workforce.
Sven Goyvaerts, Program Manager at PortXL Antwerp, was joined by Hans Casier, Chief HR Officer at DEME, Philippe Lambrechtsen, Breakbulk Manager at MSC Belgium and Joren Coene, Senior HR Consultant at Randstad. PhD students from the University of Antwerp also joined the roundtable, which answered two main questions – what makes an attractive employer? And what are the main issues faced by employers?
What makes an attractive employer in the breakbulk industry?
According to Hans Casier, DEME has successfully been ranked by Randstad, a global leader in the HR services industry, as the #1 employer for three years running as a result of “blood, sweat and tears”. The company is dedicated to authenticity, innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability, and has a mandatory, recommended and job specific training programme. “Lifelong learning is not theory, it’s practice”, according to Hans. The company invests heavily in new technology to stay ahead of the competition.
Joren Coene believed that the key drivers for Generation Z are company culture, salary, working environment, and job certainty.
Family values are also important, according to Philippe Lambrechtsen. He explained that MSC is a family-owned company, so these values are held to a high standard. Training is also provided by the company in the form of the MSC Academy, which allows staff to attend courses abroad for continued professional development and to gain further experience.
With increasing developments in technology comes more flexibility to work from home which, in turn, facilitates a better work/life balance. Philippe Lambrechtsen noted this as a priority for rising stars attracted by the prospect of telecommuting.
Hans Casier echoed this sentiment. DEME has set up eight satellite offices to give employees more flexibility in their roles. The company also employs a team of people who visit universities and schools around the world, educating students about the industry and recruiting.
Offering students more opportunities to work on projects was also cited as being something more companies could provide to encourage them into the industry.
What are the main issues faced by breakbulk employers?
According to data from Randstad, the logistics and transport industries are among the lowest scoring when compared to other industries that young people say they want to work in.
A disconnect between education and the skills needed in the industry was thought to be an issue. As Joren explained: “There’s a mismatch between the theory taught in academia and what is needed in the industry.” This was supported by PhD students in attendance, who also added that people outside the industry have no idea about what breakbulk professionals do.
Philippe Lambrechtsen noted that this may be because the sector is not well-known. A knowledge gap was also blamed for the lack of expertise in the industry for ‘everyday’ roles like accountants and IT professionals.
Hans Casier agreed there is a reputation issue in the sector. As he explained: “People associate it mainly with warehousing and they blame it for traffic jams. It is an industry going through one of the biggest transformations in comparison with other industries.”
The roundtable concluded with the thought that more storytelling is needed about the shipping and logistics industries to educate people on the huge impact the industry has on the world.
Hadassah Vorm, Executive Director at ORA Offshore Customs Consultancy, led the final session which focussed on starting a career in the industry. According to Hadassah, “more diversity in a mostly white and male-dominated industry is key.”
A major hurdle for starting a career in the industry, especially for non-EU students, is getting a work permit. The salary must be competitive, whilst receiving a warm welcome is also important.
In terms of recruitment, the discussion highlighted a need for job descriptions to match the requirements of NextGen candidates. There was a feeling that ‘old fashioned’ recruitment styles and bad job descriptions were getting in the way of progress on this front.
Training and development are important, however participants agreed that a company’s ‘brand’ and the salary on offer is also key to attracting the best talent. For many rising stars taking part in the roundtable, the offer of training if it was outside working hours was not of interest. New recruits wanted to have the freedom to initiate their own training and not have it limited to the role they were currently in.
Networking skills were seen as an important part of recruitment, especially if helped by introductions made by older colleagues.
The roundtable concluded with the notion that diversity in the industry is still lagging. According to many, logistics remains to be very male-dominated, whilst there is a need to encourage more ethnic diversity into the industry.
