OREANDA-NEWS. IRU teamed up with the Land Transport Authority of Georgia to organise a conference in Tbilisi today to highlight the importance of developing professional management and qualification in the transport and logistics workforce to support industry growth.

IRU’s educational arm, the IRU Academy co-organised the event on “Career prospects in the Road Transport Industry”, with its Associate Training Institute, the Land Transport Authority of Georgia, under the Patronage of H.E. Dimitry Kumsishvili, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable development, Georgia.

Opening the conference, Mr David Khutsishvili, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable development, highlighted that, “Road transport is one of the leading sectors of Georgia’s economy. IRU plays a very important role at regional and international level and of course for our country.  Georgia, through its road transport association GIRCA, has been an IRU member since the early 1990s. For decades, our country’s road carriers have been actively using TIR, which is a universal customs transit system that greatly facilitates road freight transport.”

The conference gathered over 140 transport and logistics business owners, researchers and policymakers from 30 countries to learn about key transport and logistics industry prospects, development forecasts and future key challenges the industry will face if overall qualification levels do not improve.

Several transport and logistics business owners presented their strategies for talent selection and retention, which help them take and keep a leading position in a highly competitive business environment. Academics notably presented innovative learning techniques and solutions that reap effective results.

Human Resources expert at PwC, David Szollosi, presented their Transportation & Logistics 2030 report. He stressed that the “Transport and logistics industry today offers numerous career opportunities. With current industry trends, notably the increase in demand for transport services due to worldwide population growth, new consumption patterns, poor brand and low market perception, the sector is set to reinvent itself, particularly in how it approaches the management of its key asset: human capital. The industry is currently impaired in attracting the appropriate workforce which will help shape its future success. Investing in staff development, such as training and qualification opportunities, and diversifying career paths and employment structures is a necessity.”

Head of IRU Academy, Patrick Philipp, said, “The transport industry needs high quality learning that focuses on developing professionals’ skills by enhancing their knowledge of and ability to deal with key aspects of road transport operations. Well-educated professional drivers are the key to making all roads safer and keeping economies moving. Transport companies looking for effective training solutions often face a regrettable lack of recognition for their efforts due to the lack of harmonisation and transparency in training standards as those made available by the IRU Academy through its network of Associate Training Institutes.”

Conference participants concluded that professional training in transport and logistics is crucial today more than ever to improve safety, efficiency, environmental performance, legal compliance and competitiveness.