John Hopkins, innovation fellow at Swinburne University of Technology, said the pandemic has highlighted just how critical supply chains are.
“The skills shortage in this area is nothing new, Australia has struggled to nurture its own supply chain talent for well over a decade, and is heavily reliant on importing talent from overseas,” said Dr Hopkins.
“During COVID-19, with Australia’s harsh international border restrictions in place, recruitment into the profession was even more challenging.”
Fast-forward career progression
Dr Hopkins said postgraduate qualifications that can help professionals working in supply chain roles fast-forward career progression towards management roles.
“In some sectors it is now difficult to reach certain levels on the corporate ladder without a postgraduate qualification and in other sectors it can help candidates stand out from the crowd,” Dr Hopkins said.
“Qualifications like this can be particularly valuable when changing jobs, when the only details your potential employers know about you is what is on your CV, experience and qualifications are what count most here.”
Vanessa Rudnick, purchasing manager at DuluxGroup, is evidence of that. She was recently promoted to a purchasing manager position after she started working at DuluxGroup last year as a national merchandising coordinator. The trained architect completed a master of supply chain innovation at Swinburne University in 2020. She has previously completed a graduate certificate in business management with a focus on supply chain management.
‘A master degree can open many doors’
She said her postgraduate education enabled her to move into a management role at DuluxGroup faster than if she did not have those qualifications.
“A master degree can open many doors because the market is very competitive for supply chain and logistics roles” Ms Rudnick said. “There are few people who work in supply chain management and logistics who actually have qualifications in that area. Most people fall into the industry so formal qualifications can really help you stand out.
“A master degree did that for me. It fast forwarded my career advancement at DuluxGroup. It helped me learn the technical knowledge, different methodologies and frameworks that I apply at work.”
The supply chain today is also more challenging and rapidly evolving, and there is a greater need for analytical skills and hands-on experience with the latest technologies than before, said Dr Scerri. And people are needed to manage those processes, especially during the pandemic.
“The current shortages experienced at the beginning of COVID were demand side such as people panic buying which caused inventory problems. When people couldn’t come to work supply side issues became evident. One of the most important things is that it doesn’t matter how good or efficient your supply chain is – without the people to work – the supply chain comes to a halt.”
