Challenge of finding and retaining port pros

Speaking at TOC Asia, Edoardo Podestá, managing director for air & sea logistics Asia Pacific at DACHSER Far East, commented: “We have to admit that [logistics and freight forwarding] is not a sexy industry. In [this industry], we need to attract people, and that is not easy.”

Guillaume Lucci, vice president for global engineering at port operator International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), added that the core issues in the areas of the world in which ICTSI operates are finding people who want to stay in the industry and pairing youth with a “high level of emotional intelligence.

“So we have a double challenge of not only finding people to actually enter the industry, but also finding people that are digitally savvy and carry the skills of the older generation,” he said.

However Andy Lane, partner at Container Transport International Consultancy, cautioned against creating a “self-fulfilling prophecy” on the war for talent. He advised a change of mindsets to help recruit and retain the right professionals in ports.