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LBBJ Perspectives: Training the Supply Chain Workforce of Tomorrow

October 10, 2016

The following is a Long Beach Business Journal article, published April 25, 2016 in Dr. Thomas O’Brien’s Perspectives series. The link to the full article is here.

 

 

The Long Beach region, home to one of the busiest seaports in the nation, has a high demand for workers in the waterborne cargo movement industry, known as logistics or supply chain management. There is a significant industry need for more trained entry-level and mid-level supply chain management workers.

To help fill that need, Long Beach City College (LBCC) and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) have teamed up to provide free training for local residents. The training includes entry- and mid-level supply chain management positions to prepare workers for this dynamic industry, from transportation to warehousing.

Long Beach is part of a national consortium that administers this program, which is known as LINCS (Short for: Leveraging, Integrating, Networking, Coordinating Supplies). The program includes eight different certifications: Supply Chain Management Principles; Warehousing Operations; Transportation Operations; Customer Service Operations; Demand Planning; Inventory Management; Manufacturing and Service Operations; and Supply Management and Procurement.

Participants can complete as many courses as they like. At the end of each course, students have the option of earning a certificate from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.

The certificate programs are offered as a combination of in-class and online, or online-only. They are typically about two weeks in length, and about 28 to 40 total hours per course. We work in partnership with industry to provide instructors and supply chain professionals to share their knowledge and experience.

Who should enroll in this training program? We are primarily targeting displaced workers, long-term unemployed workers and veterans returning from service. But we encourage anyone who wants to change careers, earn more money or advance in the goods-movement industry to join. Employees already working in the industry can benefit by understanding their role in the larger supply chain, and how actions at one part of the chain affect the others.

With the program well underway, LBCC and CSULB are now working towards connecting participants with regional businesses that have entry- and mid-level hiring needs.

Businesses that want to connect to newly trained talent, or that want to obtain training for their existing workforce, can attend an industry-focused informational session on April 26 from 3 to 4 p.m. in Building T, Room 1200 at Liberal Arts Campus. For more information or to register for the event, please contact Dana Friez, workforce development training manager, at 562/938-3227 or dfriez@lbcc.edu.

Investing in and strengthening the local workforce will boost regional businesses and the local economy. CSULB and LBCC are proud to be partners in this effort.

(Lou Anne Bynum is executive vice president of college advancement and economic development for Long Beach City College. Dr. Thomas O’Brien is the executive director of the Center for International Trade and Transportation (www.ccpe.csulb.edu/citt) at CSULB and an associate director for the METRANS Transportation Center (www.metrans.org); a partnership of USC and CSULB.)

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