Shipowners have complained for years, and often with good reason, that the technical advances they implement as a result of their huge investments in new and better ships are not matched by those in the ports and logistics world. They have noted the huge differences that there are in productivity between ports in different ports of the world that will double, or treble the time their ships take to clear the worst ports as compared with the best. Ships wait unproductively at anchor for berths to become available because of inefficiency or a lack of investment, possibly well down the logistic chain, as congested roads, poor railways or under-capitalised production processes take their toll. And there is a proven need for training and education in all of this inefficiency, to make ports, and cargo handlers, and logistic operations work more efficiently, so that the whole supply chain is managed optimally.
There are some encouraging initiatives taking place in this area. Useful courses are spreading expertise internationally into many places where this will be most beneficial. The presence of some genuinely big international port operating companies and stevedores help, because these are in the main companies who see the benefit of training and have the necessary resources to implement it in their workforces. Many have their own training arms, which will operate not only in their own ports, but in a consultancy role elsewhere. The growth of international companies of this kind will also help to spread best practices more widely, not least because a number of them have focussed on improving the least efficient ports, where the improvements can produce the greatest dividends. The customers of ports and cargo-handling systems can only benefit from such developments.
It is also important that these training initiatives which are so necessary if there are to be productivity improvements down the whole logistics chain are treated as national priorities, as the consequences of inefficiency are so obvious and affect a nation's prosperity. And even in advanced industrialised countries there is a need to make improvements, and produce "joined-up" solutions throughout the logistics supply chain.
There will be some considerable interest in a new German training initiative that began this month with the establishment of a Maritime Centre of Competence that will seek to upgrade cargo handling and logistics skills throughout the nation's port operations. Recognising that there is a need for better qualified workforces for a far more technical industry sector, and also to meet anticipated expansion in cargo handling operations, the new Centre combines a number of port and logistic training units, located in Bremen and Hamburg, into a single, well-resourced unit.
There is a general requirement for every type of skill set, from management to those who in an earlier age would be termed "dock labour". Mechanical handling, keyboard and IT skills are needed everywhere on the modern waterfront and inland warehouse alike. The use of simulator training is hugely valuable, but implies a certain volume of trainees to justify the considerable investments. And just as has been found in the shipping industry, in some parts of the world there is a paucity of people who are able to impart these specialised skills. For the shipping industry "customers", there is only advantage in the efficiency gains that will come from a better trained shore-side workforce. And every reduction in the enormous differences between the turnaround times in the best - and the worst - ports will be unreservedly welcomed.
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