To assist maritime and supply-chain logistics industries to better compete for job applicants, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) will co-host its first-ever Workforce Development Summit in Long Beach, Calif., June 25-27, in conjunction with the Port of Long Beach, Long Beach City College and TransPORTS, the official national industry intermediary chosen by the U.S. Department of Labor to expand registered apprenticeship in ports and the multi-modal transportation, distribution logistics industry nationwide.
The three-day summit and apprenticeship accelerator is being presented to bring together ports, educators and academics to take a close look at the workforce challenges facing port-related and goods movement logistics trades over the coming decades.
AAPA also has two “affiliate” sponsorships available for a special evening event aboard the USS Battleship Iowa in San Pedro Bay in conjunction with the summit on June 26.
“Our industry faces increasing challenges in filling port-related jobs that require highly skilled or specialized technical training,” said Mary Beth Long, AAPA’s vice president of external affairs. “The pool of viable candidates to fill these jobs is diminishing as other industry sectors, such as technology and manufacturing, are competing for applicants from the same job pool.”
She added: “Finding creative ways to develop the workforce is requiring ports to ramp up their efforts. From development of elementary education initiatives and internships, to apprenticeship programs and college-level curriculum, ports are playing an ever-increasing role in preparing job candidates for new opportunities in the maritime arena.”
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 2019 is the first year this century in which there are more U.S. job openings … 7 million … than there are unemployed people to fill them. This presents a large-scale skills scarcity and a major obstacle for the success of many U.S. businesses, including public port authorities and their maritime industry partners that support an estimated 30.8 million American jobs.
To attract the necessary talent, ports will not only have to showcase the long-term vocational value of the jobs available in the maritime and logistics sector, they’ll need to provide or support programs that train, up-skill and re-skill new and existing personnel rather than relying entirely on experienced candidates. Details as follows:
