Managing a supply chain is not guesswork. The ability to make logistics more efficient, and more effective requires long periods of study, innovation and close attention to detail. This is especially the case when we look at the skills needs and supply of trained people to staff the supply chain . Without real time and accurate aggregate data, how is it possible to assess, invest and create a pool or stream of skilled people at the right time, in the right place and in the right numbers?
The simplistic answer is to let the labour market work itself out without any planning at the industry or national level. In theory each company and each employee will find each other through a combination of shared information and agreed price for the work. This is the notion that skills will be found at the moment of need, with a possible minor lag or overlap because of imperfect information flows.
The real world is not so perfect! In the T&L industry there are multiple modes, changing skill sets, almost no industry level or national workforce planning model, and little incentive for employers to collaborate on matters of forward planning. Thus in the rail sector, for example, we know that the 20+ rail operators across the country need certain key skill sets i.e. train drivers, rail signal engineers, rail signal electricians, timetable experts, track maintenance engineers, project managers and team supervisors.
You would think that the 20 rail operators would already have an industry level database and workforce planning model - there are not so many companies, and not so many skills sets involved. However, there is no model, no database and hugely difficult issues in getting the companies to share the most basic HR information.
How many electricians do you need in the next 10 years? How many are leaving right now each year? What is the lead time for new entrants, including experience - 4 years, 7 years, 10 years? Why are people leaving? How easy is it to attract new entrants? What are the competitive industries?
These questions apparently have no answers at the industry level. The same applies in aviation, maritime, road and warehousing. Yet without an overall sense of workforce requirements, how can companies and education and training groups make any longer term plans? How can they invest even in next year's courses with any degree of confidence?
Until and unless we have data that is more granular than the ABS numbers produced by BITRE or the anecdotal and survey information provided by various government agencies, we are shooting in the dark. If we can't measure it we can't manage it.