How to Choose the Best CPD Options for You

Following up on Tim Killen's article "Enabling Continued Learning in a Time of Pandemic", Breakbulk asks Killen three key questions about choosing the right professional development courses to propel your career.

Tim Killen, Executive Vice President, deugro group and member of the Breakbulk Europe Programme Advisory Board

There are so many online offerings, and it can be difficult to identify which ones are worth your time. Do you have a simple step-by-step guide for readers?

There are many factors that should be considered when purchasing online trainings.

1. Firstly, look for courses offered by well-established companies. It is important and ideal for the courses to be globally accredited and recognised by professional institutes such as Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transportation (CILT) to not only maintain the standard of trainings but also ensure the certification adds value to your resume that is recognised internationally.

2. It is also important to identify trainings that cover key professional topics that are either relevant to current position or job description or to an aspirational role within the industry. Ultimately it has to provide suitable career development opportunities and experience that would bring value.

3. Another key factor to consider is the time availability and capacity of an individual to complete the training. As working professionals on a continuous professional development (CPD) journey, one has to juggle not just day-to-day work and personal life but professional training as well. Time management is critical to ensure all three are managed effectively. One positive outcome from the Covid-19 pandemic over the last 2 years was boost in the popularity of online e-learnings. These bite-sized, modular e-learnings provide much needed flexibility and fits with the workload of working professionals within the logistics and supply chain industry. The programs provide CPD credits allowing for a continuous career development journey.

1. Level of course selected has to suit learners’ level of knowledge and experience. If you are new to the learning journey, check there are no pre-requisites to sign up for a particular course and if there are, ensure you meet the prerequisites of the training so that the training is effective and you are able to keep up with the material being taught.

2. Lastly, cost factor should also be considered. The logistics space has trainings with a wide range of costs. It would be prudent to do some research and find something affordable without foregoing the other important factors listed above. Your own organisation may be able to support your CPD journey by contributing towards your learning as part of their staff upskilling initiative.

When considering continuing education, how do you determine areas that would most effectively propel your career?

This fundamentally would depend on an individual’s career aspiration. There are various career progression opportunities in the supply chain and logistics such as senior management, project management, technical subject matter experts etc.

By planning a clear career path for the future, you would then know to select the correct tools for CPD and education i.e. how to gain technical, practical, operational and managerial experience that would be critical to support the chosen career path. However, this path doesn’t have to be set-in stone. The Quality concept of PDCA applies here (Plan – Do - Check and Act). It is important to select the career goal journey and committing to it but equally important is to review the plan once the career aspirations are achieved or has changed.

Working with a professional mentor either within your own organisation or from an external network in the industry would also be useful. Mentors will be able to share real-life experiences and guidance that would help you shape your own career journey and goals.

Well-established industry organisations such as Breakbulk or educational institutes could contribute and support the industry by offering mentoring programmes which provide a reliable and reputable platform to connect mentors and mentees to better support the career development and upskilling programs within the industry which to date is still not as widespread and well-established as it could be.

How about for a mid-level project logistics manager – what skills are typically lacking that are also in high demand?

One of the key skills that is increasingly depleting within the industry is the lack of in-depth knowledge or technical know-how. This is particularly apparent in the project logistics industry. The underlying cause for this remains the key challenge facing the industry: talent scarcity due to ageing workforce.  A whitepaper published by Talent in Logistics previously (Changing Perceptions: Attracting Young Talent Into Logistics, 2019) revealed that only 9 percent of manpower in the logistics industry is under 25 years of age and 45 percent are aged over 45, resulting in a skills deficit due to potential gaps in expertise and knowledge transfer. Unless more is done to address this issue, the gap in expertise will only continue to grow and pose huge problems down the line. Which is why investment in training and upskilling of staff to provide them with strong and broad foundation, in-depth technical knowledge and experience on all topics including finance, trade control is critical. This ensures mid-level managers are well-equipped with technical, practical, operational and managerial experience.

On the other hand, some project logistics managers who are very strong operationally may not have sufficient experience in managing larger teams. So as their career develops, they may suddenly find themselves in a situation where they are required to manage larger project teams. This again reiterates the importance of a holistic career development journey – instead of only focusing on only the technical know-how and experience aspect of career development, it also important to consider broader range of business-related knowledge such a people management. Organisations should establish clear competence development framework to identify and list skills needed for specific job descriptions or roles to ensure individuals on that career path can have a clear competence development plan.

Lastly, regardless of the level an individual is in their career journey, the key is to appreciate that learning never stops and it is important to keep the focus and continue to upskill to keep abreast with the changes within the industry and meet the changes head-on rather than playing catch-up.