Early Engagement Attracts Talent

In the breakbulk industry’s bid to attract young people, it has made some progress in introducing niche course materials at select post-secondary institutions, but the industry needs to be diligent or that progress might be snatched away by America’s chaotic but headline-grabbing containerized supply chains.

Outreach like the Jerry Nagel Education Day, held annually for more than a decade at Breakbulk Americas in Houston, is meant to help develop career interest, said Elizabeth Wetzel, the convention’s content developer, who will retire later this year. She said the educational components and networking opportunities available to students can be quite valuable –1,200 prior attendees later made their way into breakbulk industry positions.

Hoping for similar success, Gabriel Matos, a senior at Texas A&M University Galveston, attended Education Day Sept. 30. He said one of the reasons he first became intrigued with the maritime industry was because it was so seemingly invisible. As he learned more about it at school, and its importance to everyday lives, he was “hooked.” Matos is currently studying inland waterways, and was pleased to hear directly from Ingram Barge Co. at the Breakbulk event. “Our speakers today helped me get an insider perspective of the industry,” he said. He was also happy to leverage the event to add to his growing list of potential employers.

Kasey Eckstein of Ingram Barge said there is no shortage of well-paying careers on the 9,000 barges of the nation’s inland waterways. She said the ongoing push to get trucks off the road indicates a bright future. “Barging is the lowest-cost and lowest-carbon form of transportation,” Eckstein said. “With truck and even rail approaching capacity,” barging is the best opportunity for freight mobility, and offers excellent job potential.”

Stephen Spoljaric, corporate manager of global logistics at Bechtel, told this year’s students that if ingenuity and innovation are in their DNA, a career path in the breakbulk sector might be right for them. He described new and fascinating opportunities in the supply chain unfolding right now, many of which will benefit from a fresh eye. For example, Spoljaric anticipates a time when every product and its supply chain’s carbon footprint will have to be available to buyers. Assessing and sharing carbon calculations for consumer or industrial products will be an entirely new field.

Similarly, as the world switches to greener fuels there will be multiple career opportunities in strategic decision-making related to the build-out of fueling infrastructure, the sourcing of new no/low-carbon fuels, and the management of carbon commitments when bottlenecks or incidents negate green elements in a supply chain. Spoljaric encouraged young people to look for these new niches, and get in on the ground floor, which could prove to be a fast track to career success.