Denis Opudo
During the Tech African Terminal Operator’s Conference (TOC Africa) forum held in Durban, there was a call to instill technology in the African ports. One of the speakers Lwandile Mabuza, senior operations manager for Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA) Port of Durban’s Point and Leisure Precinct raised her voice by saying that African ports required African measures that counter to the rapid technology changes in the maritime industry.
The solutions have to embrace technology while enhancing the skills and talent development around the port sector. As much as there is a great need to offer more job opportunities, there is a need to be efficient which will help in improving productivity, developing skills and job opportunities that will attract and retain the ports’ workforce.
Most terminals, shipping lines, and ports around the world are working on implementing automation as a way to minimize costs and raise the productivity, sustainability, and safety of their work. As much as Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), has embraced the wave of the fourth industrial revolution, through its smart People port, it is at the same time using high tech training media to develop a high-performance workforce instead of doing away with human labor.
The customers demand also changing, like shippers now prefer to have a one-stop shop giving one point of entry and completion has also moved from countries’ comparative advantage to competitive global supply chains. African ports are now moving to diversify for them to facilitate nearshoring and value-added logistics by offering some facilities for postponed manufacturing closer to the port. The shifts are all but affecting the workforce.
Despite the fact that there is an increase in the number of millennial in the workplace, African ports still faced challenges when it comes to recruitment and selection. The challenges comprise of include an aging, low-tech workforce, the high experiential requirement for white collar jobs, limited upward mobility, physically demanding jobs, inflexible work schedules, repetitive work and long hours.
There is a need for the African force to have a mixture of old and young people in their workforce and should incorporate technology to make the work more efficient and accommodative.
