Battle for the Best

Skilled candidates are like gold dust in all industries today – none more so than the recruitment challenged logistics sector. Robin Lyndhurst outlines some of the key issues and tries to suggest ways to boost competitiveness and
appeal

The 21st century battlefield won’t be fought outside castles or on grassy plains, but in the recruitment department of every company globally. Everyone is scrambling for skilled staff, developed and developing countries alike.

Paul Stuiver, CEO, Barloworld Logistics

Some employment experts believe the battle for talent that we see today could be just the start, and it’s all going to get a whole lot tougher in the decade ahead.

In today’s globalised world, the location of jobs that can be moved is continuously being challenged. Currently, Singapore, Peru, Japan, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa are among the nations which are hiring most rapidly – but tomorrow, who knows? That’s the guessing game that is globalisation.

One thing we can be near certain of is that the developing world will account for 45 per cent of global trade by 2030 – which has as much significance for the developed world as it does for those emerging on the world stage. Consider this: Europe could lose up to 60 million of its workforce in the next 10 to 15 years.

Barloworld Logistics, which recently bought the Dubai-based Swift Group in a US$70 million all-cash deal, envisages that the agreement will help it spread its wings internationally – although it would be the first to acknowledge that this strategy will depend on finding the best people to do the job.

“Recruitment is a problem everywhere,” said CEO Paul Stuiver. “In Dubai, South Africa, Spain, it’s a worldwide problem. We’re not looking to export South Africans to other parts of the world. One of our core strategies is to recruit decent, local talent as much as we can.”

The logistics industry is facing challenges at all levels, from an increasing shortage of fleet drivers, which has the potential to cause severe service disruptions, to problems filling mid and even senior management positions. At a local level, many migrant drivers are being poached by driver-hungry construction firms and another complication has come from the issuing of licences – it used to be easy to transfer from a GCC licence to a UAE licence, but no longer, and applications are prone to delays.

Higher up the ladder, issues of pay, as in any industry, are vitally important, particularly for any overseas expats looking to relocate themselves, and their families, to the Gulf at a time of widespread inflation.

A click on an internet recruitment site, picked entirely at random, shows that a Warehouse Operations Manager (chemicals) currently working in the UAE can expect to earn US$90,000 a year, plus family tickets and medical. In local currency, that works out AED 27,525 a month – not an impoverished wage, but equally not a fantastic one either, when you consider the responsibilities, and what an ops manager in another field (take energy) is taking home. It’s only when you get into the top tier – eg ‘Head of Logistics’ – do you find salaries take a noticeable jump (AED 560,000 a year or 46,000 a month), but naturally, so do the responsibilities.

Perhaps it’s not all doom and gloom. Private sector salaries in the six countries of the GCC increased at an average rate of 9 per cent over the last year, according to an 18,000-strong survey conducted by GulfTalent.com, with increased competition, public sector pay rises, the depreciating US dollar, and growth in Asia all driving Gulf pay increases.

Oman led the way (11 per cent), followed closely by the UAE (10.7 per cent) and Qatar (10.6 per cent). Across the Gulf, sectors enjoying the highest pay rise were construction, banking and energy – although logistics was noticeable by its absence.

Historically under-represented in the region, it is clear the HR function is now in the corporate front line as Gulf employers grapple with the challenge of attracting, developing and retaining staff.

BIGGER PICTURE You’d think China, with its 1.3 billion population, would have no problem filling positions. Wrong. The skills drive is as fierce as in many parts of the Western world. It’s estimated the booming country needs 75,000 leaders and it’s only producing around 4,000 a year. Skilled workers, particularly those with technical training, are increasingly at a premium in urban areas and special economic zones. Consequently, pay rates are currently going “through the roof” as companies scramble for the best staff.

Andy Weber, Managing Director of Kuehne + Nagel (Asia-Pacific), said that the lack of talent within the sector is even bigger in Asia compared to Europe and America.

“There are insufficient candidates with adequate working experience or academic knowledge in the logistics industry in Hong Kong and China, compared with Europe or the Americas.”On land and water, the skills shortage crisis seemingly

The officer class of seamen who ply over 90 per cent of world trade along global shipping lanes are in ever-shorter supply – ironically at a time when carriers are returning to healthy levels of profitability.

The shortfall of trained senior off icers is estimated to be around 10,000, equating to 2 per cent of the total workforce, which is expected to increase in the next 10 years.

Many experienced seafarers from the global talent pool are reaching retirement age at a time when fewer young people are joining the industry, and even those that are joining will take years to complete their training. It’s not only skills attraction which companies need to consider, but the changing nature of the workplace itself. With the global population ageing, more corporations need to attract and retain older workers and the savvy employers will be the ones that have a strategy in place.