Logistic employees wanted

 Moreover, the shortage of qualified personnel is indicated as one of the key challenges in running a business in the area of ​​logistics in Poland. The scale of the shortage of candidates in logistics is even greater than in the case of IT specialists. And upcoming events such as Black Friday and Christmas, which are crucial for e-commerce and logistics, further deepen this trend. As Manpower experts estimate, the level of competition for staff between employers that they observe on the market is currently at a record level.

The lack of a sufficient number of logistics employees is felt both in Poland and in the world. In both cases, this group of jobs opens the list of positions that are the hardest to fill (Source: Talent Shortage Report, ManpowerGroup). Polish entrepreneurs operating in the area of ​​logistics declare that a particular challenge for them is the acquisition of warehouse workers, operators of forklifts, sideloaders and a high warehouse. Employers in the logistics industry also experience a shortage of engineers, team managers, as well as experts such as forwarders or specialists in stock, quality, export or warehouse management (source: "Logistics in Poland" report, ManpowerGroup and Łukasiewicz - Institute of Logistics and Storage).

- Logistics is one of the industries that, regardless of the pandemic, and sometimes even because of it, records the most dynamic growth and is becoming more and more important. In addition, the spectrum of responsibilities of the so-called logisticians is very wide, ranging from inventory planning, through warehouse coordination, forklift operation, to transport planning and implementation. Such a wide range of tasks directly translates into a significant number of people in each enterprise, dedicated to the logistic handling of flows - says Marta Cudziło, Łukasiewicz Research Network - ILIM - Can some of the listed areas of logistics be supported by artificial intelligence, robots or autonomous vehicles? Will the observed digitization of logistics reduce the demand for logistics employees? I believe absolutely not. The enormous importance of logistics for the proper functioning of trade, coupled with the multitude of activities that are involved in logistics, in principle guarantee at least a non-decreasing demand for employees in this field. Logistics development trends, such as digitization or automation, will not stop this demand, but will affect a certain modification of the competences required from logistics: experience, specialization and the ability to use technology will be necessary. These features are in the price, and the price is higher and higher - adds Marta Cudziło.

- Along with the significant growth of the e-commerce sector in Poland and the accompanying development of logistics and warehousing, we observe a greater demand of employers from these industries for highly qualified employees. We are looking for specialists with a technical and engineering profile, experienced in implementing optimization and automation of the supply chain. The growing demand for warehouse space translates into competition for experts in the field of real estate management. Employers in the logistics sector are also constantly looking for people in forwarding and leadership positions. Undoubtedly, employees with extensive professional experience and unique, key skills for the industry understand their strong position on the labor market, which translates into constantly growing financial expectations, presented when considering a job change - says Katarzyna Pączkowska, Manpower Group.

Among the biggest challenges that stand in the way of acquiring new talents are too high financial expectations of future employees (61%) and the shortage of candidates on the market (58%). Organizations also mention the lack of sufficient professional experience of the candidates (44%), the lack of the required hard skills (33%) and the reluctance to change jobs during the pandemic (22%). Almost every fifth company (18%) talks about the lack of required soft skills of employees, and every sixth (17%) about problems resulting from the specificity of the company, e.g. location. The least, 7% of employers indicate too high expectations of candidates regarding non-wage benefits.

More: Manpower Group