Skill Requirements for Logistics Professionals in the Apparel Industry of Bangladesh: An Importance-Expertise Matrix Analysis

Iqbal, Md Arif; Su, Jin; Hasan, Sabbir

doi:10.31274/itaa.11802

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…For Korecki and Drăghici (2012), knowledge can be conceptualized from different dimensions namely knowledge management, learning society, and knowledge capital and capitalization. As supply chain management is depending on the abilities of the professionals to communicate, supervise, take decisions, manage performance, and handle relationships internally and externally according to the level of integration, there is a need to have highly qualified people to perform these activities, which explains the need for equipping graduates with knowledge and cognitive skills (Abreu and Alcântara, 2015; Su et al. , 2020; Mageto and Luke, 2020).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge and skills gap of graduates entry-level: perception of logistics and supply chain managers in Oman

Harrasi¹,

Din²,

Masengu³

et al. 2023

HESWBL

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PurposeThe study provides an evaluation of the knowledge and skills importance covered in the degree of Logistics and Supply Chain Management (LSCM) as well as the knowledge and skills gap of graduates entry-level.Design/methodology/approachThe study used both descriptive and exploratory research designs. The study adopted a self-administered questionnaire. The sample size is 41 logistics industry mid-managers of six organizations selected from the main operators of Sohar Port in Oman.FindingsThe findings reveal that logistics professionals agree on the importance of all the learner attributes, knowledge and cognitive skills, and general competencies identified in a university degree with a major in LSCM. Furthermore, the results identified moderate levels of gaps in five knowledge areas and six soft and hard skills of graduates at the entry level.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research can be built on this study findings by evaluating the perception of logistics and supply chain industry professionals in different global contexts and investigate the effectiveness of different training and educational programs in enhancing the knowledge and skills of logistics professionals in various regions.Practical implicationsThis study may extend beyond Oman and have important implications for LSCM practices in other developing countries. Universities' management in developing countries can use this study findings to identify the key skills required by entry-level logistics professionals and incorporate them into their curricula to better prepare graduates for the workforce. In addition, the skills identified in our study, such as decision-making skills, managing stress, negotiation skills and critical thinking, are relevant to logistics professionals in other developing countries with similar socio-economic and industry characteristics.Originality/valueUnlike the prior studies that focused on the mismatch between educational degrees and job requirements without considering study specializations and industry, this paper lays a nuanced understanding of the knowledge and skills gap associated with entry-level graduates of the logistics and supply chain industry. As such, the paper offers inputs for the LSCM academic degree related to knowledge and skills needed by logistics and supply chain industry.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%