Learning for a lifetime

By Peter Bradley, Editor in Chief -- Logistics Management, 9/1/2000

Students around the United States are all back in school now, as are many of their parents in this age of lifelong learning. A couple of matters have got me thinking about education again. It's a topic high on the agenda of the major presidential candidates, so the issue is getting plenty of attention from the popular media. But it is also an issue that this magazine has addressed in several reports during the year.

The latest of those reports focuses on training for advancement and the idea that providing training for employees pays off. Oh, sure, a few will undergo technology training and use that to get a better job elsewhere. But more often, providing training is a way to nurture and retain talented people.

The critical need for trained people underlies part of our annual Giants of Shipping report, which also appears in this issue. One of the conclusions drawn from the research is that shippers have to take better advantage of supply chain technology. Typically, what's holding them back is not lack of access to the software but lack of access to the talent to take advantage of it. Non-technology companies have difficulty finding and retaining technological specialists. That's one reason why application service providers are beginning to thrive: They provide customers with both technology and talent. But even companies that outsource much of their technological work must have in-house expertise to manage the process. And offering training to current employees is one way to develop that expertise.

The issue of developing technical and scientific talent extends far beyond the realm of logistics, of course. A recent report published by the National Research Council calls for stronger ties between the nation's schools and colleges in order to provide comprehensive education in science, mathematics, and technology to current and prospective school teachers.

Having a work force-and a citizenry-well versed in mathematics, technology, and science would benefit industry enormously, and it would benefit the nation as well. As Carl Sagan wrote in "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark," scientific thinking makes for citizens who are engaged-and intelligently engaged-in the business of the nation. (I'd add that requires a broad and rigorous education in history, literature, composition, the arts, and a second language as well.) The importance of education in our own field is demonstrated by the continued success of the Council of Logistics Management's annual conference, gathering this month in New Orleans, and by the success of many continuing-education programs around the nation. That hunger for knowledge and understanding both for careers and for life is something we should continue to both nurture and feed.

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