new competencies and
innovations in logistics

Varying levels of detail in statistical job nomenclatures
The most detailed nomenclatures in terms of logistics jobs exist in Portugal, Hungary, France, the United Kingdom, and in Ireland.

Number of logistics jobs listed in national statistical classifications

Country	Number of jobs in transport-logistics	Number of jobs in logistics
Austria	11	4
Belgium	9	2
France	26	10
Germany	13	8
Hungary	2	16*
Italy	15	8**
Portugal	28	20
Spain	40	20
United Kingdom	13***	10
* transport and logistics are considered in the same way in the different management jobs ** 7 logistics positions in the previous references for 1999 *** in the previous references SOC90: 17 transport-logistics jobs and 10 logistics jobs

However, the statistical structure is not always able to produce figures on logistics jobs in as much detail as those in the national nomenclatures.

Logistics jobs data available in Europe

No data	Partial data	Detailled data
Greece Italy Luxembourg The Netherlands Spain Sweden	Austria Belgium Denmark Finland Germany United Kingdom	France Hungary Ireland Portugal

Changing nomenclatures
The example of Ireland is particularly interesting. Estimates were carried out to identify the number of individuals employed in the four transport-logistics jobs not included in the SOC nomenclature usually applied in Ireland for the production of employment statistics and which have nevertheless been identified as important by a national study. This refers to the positions of supply chain manager, logistics planners, logistics assistants, and freight forwarding managers, demonstrating growing concern in relation to better consideration of professions involved in defining logistics policies from a strategy point of view.

Transport and logistics jobs in Ireland (NB: Transport jobs are in italics)

Jobs	N° of individuals employed in 1999
Transport managers	3 600
Heavy load drivers	37 700
Warehouse managers	1 800
Stock controllers	5 700
Warehouse operators	18 600
Forklift drivers	4 000
Purchasing managers	900
Buyers	3 600
Commissioning managers	860
Chartererss	862
Other commissioning agents	1 700
Import-export agents	400
Supply chain managers	2 832
Logistics planning managers	4 208
Logistics assistants	704

In France, the modifications made in 2003 go some way towards a better distinction between logistics jobs and transport jobs.

Examples of modifications in the statistical nomenclatures in France

1993		2003
codes	Position	codes	Position
3861	Transport and logistics managers	389a	Engineers and technical managers in transport operations*
		387b	Engineers and logistics, planning and ordering managers
6792	Handlers, unqualified agents in transport operations	676a	Unqualified handlers
		676b	Unqualified movers (excluding driver-movers)*
		676d	Unqualified agents in transport operations*
* transport jobs

When job titles have specific descriptions
Although national statistics institutes often identify jobs without providing a detailed description, it is noted that several employment classifications attempt to define the content of jobs to varying levels of detail.

E.g., in Portugal, the CNP-94 provides a short job description. The SOC 2000 nomenclature used in the United Kingdom provides a better description, specifying the various tasks associated with exercising a profession and the qualifications required.

National versus international nomenclatures
The International Standard Classification of Occupations, ISCO-88, is a job nomenclature produced to assist in comparing employment statistics on an international scale.

To date, this represents the tool of reference for the standardization of job nomenclatures within Europe, but is far from satisfactory for the identification of logistics jobs.

Indeed, while the ISCO-88 nomenclature provides a good overview of warehouse jobs, it includes little detail in terms of the identification of professions working in the field of logistics strategy and supply management. In fact, it goes no further in this respect than acknowledging the existence of "purchasing, distribution and general management".

ISCO nomenclature versus NOVALOG nomenclature

1226 Production and operations mangers in transport, storage and communications
1316 Managers of small enterprises in transport, storage and communications
4131 Stock clerks, 8334 Lifting-truck operators, 9330 Transport labourers and freight handlers

Several national statistics institutes produce data on the basis of the ISCO-88 nomenclature (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands). However, it is regrettable that the resources used to collect data on the basis of this nomenclature often only allow job data to be identified at the highly aggregated levels of the nomenclature. Consequently, groups of varying sizes may be quantified, but it is difficult to find numbers of employed individuals for logistics jobs themselves.

Distinguish logistics jobs from transport jobs
Statistics on logistics jobs often include transport jobs. We have attempted to remove all purely transport-related jobs from the logistics-specific jobs. Logistics-specific jobs refers to all jobs directly associated with logistics functions and excluding support jobs (such as secretarial functions).
Employment statistics selected as exclusively in the field of logistics demonstrate that logistics jobs represent between 30 and 55% of transport-logistics jobs depending on the country and years in question. Changing trends – were there to be time sequences: the case for Portugal, Germany, and Ireland etc. – are heading towards what appears to be a better convergence of this relation within Europe as time progresses.

% of logistics jobs within transport-logistics employment in 1999

Percentage of logistics jobs within total employment
Purely logistics jobs - excluding transport and support jobs – have represented between 1.3 and 3.5% of overall employment since the early 1990s, depending on the country.

However, the percentage of logistics employment within the total active population is gradually increasing in Germany, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, and gradually decreasing in France and Ireland, although the ratio was higher than in other countries. More data would enable determination of whether or not this is a type of “catch-up” phenomenon. Over time, this trend, if confirmed, may lead to a relative convergence of the logistics jobs in total employment ratio between the countries (approx. 2% or 2.5%).

Distribution of personnel by logistics job type
Obviously, logistics agents (workers and other employees) represent a majority of logistics personnel, and represent more than 80% of logistics jobs in Portugal, Hungary and France.

In Ireland, we could consider that the high percentage of small companies, and starting from company directors who are not counted as agents, could lead to a lower percentage of manual workers and other employees in logistics in the economy.

% of manual workers and other employees in global logistics in 1999

Distribution of logistics jobs by sector of activity
In order to distribute logistics jobs between sectors of activity - for each of the countries for which the statistics enable cross-referencing between professions and economic sectors - we based our analysis on three sectors of activity in the NACE nomenclature, acting as a common denominator:

• transport and communications
• trade
• chemical industry: from the industrial sectors selected for NOVALOG – chemistry, electronics, automobile - the chemical industry appeared to include the most logistics jobs.

We took the most recent year for comparison, namely 2001, with the exception of Portugal, for which we have no data from later than 1999, therefore this is our reference year.
In Portugal and Hungary, the number of logistics jobs is distributed in a similar manner between the transport sector and the trade sector. In France however, data from the most recent census of the population shows that the trade sector accounts for one third of logistics jobs. For comparison purposes, the transport and trade sectors employed approximately 20% of logistics personnel in Hungary in 2001.

Logistics jobs by sector as percentage of total logistics jobs

Development of logistics jobs in transport
In France and Germany, logistics jobs are increasingly exercised within the transport sector. This is also the case in Portugal. In France, this movement is accompanied by a reduction in logistics personnel within industry, which represents the sub-contracting and outsourcing of logistics activities by producers.

Development of logistics jobs within the transport sector

A tool-based approach demonstrates better consideration of logistics in policies for employment and training. This recognition is, in addition, increasingly global with the appearance of nomenclatures with specific definitions for non-statistical purposes, in which all related functions and jobs are identified.

The players are mainly training operators with support from far wider categories of approaches to employment for longer training courses. This involvement is due to the growing role of employment and training nomenclatures in the management of vocational training as a formal interface with the market, and a tool for regulation and evaluation. This also represents responsiveness to the requirements of the employment market, which is also found within employment agencies responsible for informing, guiding and placing parties. These agencies develop increasingly exhaustive tools for assisting in matching offer to demand and the accessibility of definitions via websites. They actively contribute to revising the methods of understanding logistics in favour of a more global style in which the most representative standard or typical job logic prevailed or even prevails. The role of social partners in the task of producing job titles and descriptions is developing, particularly in sectors, while being represented with other players, including training operators, elsewhere. The prudent contribution of standardization bodies in the extending of and/or upstream of the initiatives of the European Committee for Standardization in the mid-1990s must be noted in certain Member States, particularly France.

Main "producers" of logistics job titles and descriptions within Europe

The most clearly identified and/or defined jobs in Europe are forklift drivers, warehouse operators, and order pickers, in accordance with their importance in terms of statistics. These jobs are on an equal footing with the logistics manager, who is clearly separated with regard to the other jobs based on the implementation and definition of logistics policies, to create the reference profile covering all possible cases indifferently, despite the risk of masking the diversity of positions and career prospects.

Level of representation of logistics job titles and descriptions within Europe

The type of information shown in the presentation of the content of logistics jobs, or, in other words, those having been defined differently, reflects the importance of the role played by the various players. In this respect, this means that qualifications and skills prevail, followed by the description of activities, knowledge, and know-how. On the other hand, elements relating to know-how appear little used, which could be considered surprising considering the very nature of logistics and the aspects concerning career prospects, working conditions, and finally, remuneration, which do however constitute significant information for policies on recruitment, guidance and training when it comes to acting on the attractiveness of an activity, a sector or a profession.

Importance of information considered in the definition of logistics jobs within Europe

The analysis of tools leads to that of the players called upon to get involved according to their field of specialisation and their understanding of the challenges involved in "creating" a picture of logistics in terms of employment and training.

The dynamics which would appear to be contributing to this more specifically combine from one Member State to another at European level, without necessarily being interconnected. The main dynamics are:

• Professional, prompted by those parties responsible for any logistics policies aimed at enhancing the approach and skills required through standardization at national and European level using the interface with the European Logistics Association (ELA).
• Educational and training-related, with, on the one hand, the rapid development of the logistics management career path, and on the other hand, the implementation of qualifying training or other qualifications for warehousing positions.
• Informing and guidance, characterised by the definition of reference jobs, and proper nomenclatures with varying degrees of integration.
• Territorial, at regional level, as in Spain or Italy, or nationally, as in Ireland. Logistics is approached as a key element of attractiveness and training as a component of flanking policies which tend to encourage a horizontal and global approach in terms of the job itself.

Two other dynamics appear to be particularly successful - sector-based logic and the European approach.

• Sector-based logic may arise when extending economic initiatives or reflections on the future of a sector of activity in order to arrive at conclusions on the strategic role of logistics and on the flanking policies to be implemented, including those on employment and training. It also arises when institutional players make employment and training a separate and specific field of concern and action. The same applies to transport in general, and road transportation of goods in particular, which is characterized by the multiplication of initiatives aimed at better incorporation of logistics into the institutional framework and the existing employment-training structure. Questions concern both the definition of the scope of the sector and the identification of jobs and skills. The most significant examples include that of the incorporation of 21 logistics jobs, by French social partners, ranging from management to operating level, in the collective agreement for the road transport sector and secondary activities.

List of 21 logistics jobs identified in the collective agreement
for the road transportation sector in France

Director of logistics site(s) Packaging Manager Director of logistics operations Head of logistics operations Project leader (logistics methods or studies) Logistics dock head Logistics team leader Stock/ Inventory Controller Logistics warehouse maintenance manager Quality management supervisor

Quality management supervisor contact Wrapping operator Controller/flasher Logistics warehouse maintenance technician Logistics warehouse maintenance agent Ordering officer Order Picker Line manager or supervisor Line operator Forklift driver in logistics services Inventory assistant

Each of the 21 positions was accorded a description. Professional training bodies for this sector - AFT-IFTIM and Promotrans - were entrusted with defining the requisite skills, knowledge and training and identifying existing qualifying training courses or qualifications.

National dynamics increasingly tend to identify extensions, or equivalents, at European level, but according to procedures, which mainly depend on the level of representation and organisation on the part of the players in question. Rather than describing the content of the various European approaches, it seems more important to highlight the forms of action.

Certain forms are based on standardization and certification to tackle logistics management as a matter of priority through the European Logistics Association.

Others fall more under cooperation and coordination-based policies through social dialogue, after the fashion of the initiatives of the Road Sector Committee in close collaboration with the NOVALOG project, the creation of a European logistics technician diploma as part of a partnership between companies and Members States, on a voluntary basis.

Finally, others refer to regulatory aspects or to means of transposition for approaches, tools, and standards shared by more than one subsidiary, or by more than one Member State, via group policies in terms of human resources management.

Main forms of action at European level

Normative requirements related to logistics jobs
Transposition of the European Directives has obliged European Union Member States to switch from legislation often based on remedial principles to a preventive approach based on individual behaviour and organisational structures.

Concerning more particularly transposition of European Council Directive 89/655/EEC of 30 November 1989 on the use of "work equipment", which defines the minimum health and safety prescriptions for workers using work equipment in the workplace, a Commission communication on the practical implementation of the provisions of a number of directives on work equipment states that "most of the shortcomings observed have been rectified without the need for infringement proceedings, which have, however, been necessary in certain cases (…)". Directive 89/655/EEC has made it possible to renew the regulations on the use of work equipment by including it as part of a modern problem area of risk assessment and action programming; the result, thanks particularly to the contribution made by the professional branches, is a dynamic of overall improvement in safety levels.

This Council Directive 89/655/EEC lists the general obligations incumbent on employers and the general rules they must observe as regards work equipment – including equipment involving a specific risk –, information, consultation and worker participation (http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c11149.htm).

Transposing this directive into the Member States' national legislation covers more particularly the driving of mobile automotive work equipment and lifting equipment.

These regulations state, or not, that adequate initial training in driving such equipment is compulsory, particularly for forklift trucks, whatever the sector of activity. Driving a forklift truck often requires a compulsory authorisation (licence) valid on the company's premises. In Germany and in the United Kingdom, authorisation is only required for driving a forklift truck on the public highway.

The obligation of training is not always accompanied by an obligation to hold a driving licence or an authorisation to drive a forklift truck.

Thus in France the Certificat d’Aptitude à la Conduite des Engins en Sécurité (CACES) is not compulsory, although it is recommended by the Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Maladie des Travailleurs Salariés (CNAMTS). The certificate is valid for five years; it constitutes a good tool for checking knowledge of safe driving at the time of issuing the driving authorisation, which is drawn up by the employer.

For driving a forklift truck, an authorisation is required in France; this is issued by the head of the company, after checking:

• medical aptitude for the work involved (attested by an industrial doctor)
• the operator's knowledge and skills in respect of safe driving
• knowledge of the site and instructions to be respected at the work site.

However, where the regulations do not require the driver to hold an authorisation, training to provide him with the knowledge and skills necessary for safe driving may be offered. Employers must, for example, ensure that all employees are trained and if necessary provide training or updating of knowledge, as in Ireland.

At the end of the training course, a document may be handed over certifying that the training course has been duly followed, and/or the required knowledge and skills have been validated by success in an examination.

The regulations in Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary and Ireland in particularly require a check on knowledge to authorise forklift drivers to drive their vehicles. In Spain, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom, on the other hand, no special check on knowledge is compulsory.

For the organisation of training for forklift drivers, most countries do not have pre-defined training programmes; employers are only informed of the main themes, for information. In France, Luxembourg, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, the professional organisations, the social partners or the public authorities have devised appropriate training programmes which include tests and both practical and theory examinations.

The regulations in some countries recommend how long training should last; 5 days is the suggested duration in Ireland, 3 days in Luxembourg and France, a week in Denmark. Specific pre-requirements may be demanded, as in Greece, where someone applying for a job as a forklift driver must be able to prove that he/she has worked for 400 days as an assistant forklift driver under the responsibility of a professional. In Hungary, forklift drivers must hold a basic school-leaving certificate.

Transposition of the Directive into national law has thus resulted in the general obligation throughout Europe to train people as forklift drivers. This obligation did indeed exist in some countries before the directive (thus in France the obligation of a driving authorisation for automotive handling trucks goes back to 1974).

There is nevertheless wide variety in applying the Directive and carrying out training. The duration, frequency and content of training in particular has not been harmonised; neither has control of the knowledge acquired, as a training certificate or a driving authorisation is not always compulsory.

Moreover, other criteria are often taken into account in authorising people to drive a forklift truck, such as age, health and sometimes an educational pre-requirement or professional experience, but here again the requirements vary substantially from one country to another.

Certification
The European Logistics Association (ELA) is a federation of 30 national organizations, covering almost every country in Central and Western Europe. The goal of ELA is to provide a forum for co-operation for any individual or society concerned with logistics within Europe and to assist industry and commerce in Europe. ELA work with national associations to create and maintain efficient curriculum and educational standards. ELA formulates European Logistics Standards and encourage the acceptance of these standards by each of its member nations.

A Vocational Qualification procedure is in place to enable the standards to be accepted on a pan-European basis.

In that respect, ELA through its occupational profiles for practitioners in logistics study has developed an action plan and some career path models are included in their certification programs and requirements. Enabling employment mobility within Europe, certification ensures that employers can recognize and understand the qualifications of member countries. All certified candidates are assessed using the European Certification Board of Logistics standards of competences, which are shared by a number of participating European education bodies.

The European Certification Board for Logistics (ECBL) was established in 1997 for applying the ELA Certification. The ECBL is an International Non-Profit Association and it is registered in Brussels, under the Belgium Law. The ECBL is an independent body consisting of member countries who voluntarily agree to share the Standards of Competence for Logistics and adhere to common levels of quality assurance procedures.

ECBL objectives are:

• to improve the professional knowledge of logisticians in Europe, to introduce and maintain a recognized European structure of qualifications, and thus to promote the science, practice and development of logistics
• to be aware of the development of new competencies in logistics
• to introduce and maintain European standards for the practice of logistics
• to establish European certification and qualification procedures for the competency of those practicing in logistics
• to encourage the establishment of training organizations in Europe in order to support the qualifications deriving from this European system
• to establish and maintain meetings with other European and international organizations engaged in logistics training and qualifications
• to promote all activities associated with the objectives above
• to do so in accordance with the values and objectives of ELA.

ECBL adopts the competence system which reflects the expectation of the workplace performance. The Standards are outcome-based and form the basis of assessment. This task is attended by ECBL Standardization Working Group who is draw upon the experience of the users and the needs of the Logistics Market and update the Standards as necessary. Quality assurance working group collates all information from ECBL members on assessment processes and systems. It also works on the training of the control procedures.

A value ring in the chain of ECBL

Normalisation
CEN/TC 273 "Logistics" has prepared a report "Logistics Performance Measures, Requirements and measuring Methods" with a view to helping industries, enterprises and individuals measure their performance in logistics. Attention is increasingly being paid to supply chain efficiency and effectiveness and to competitiveness in logistics. The scope of the document is to define a set of logistics performance measures, requirements and methods for performance measurement, relating to effectiveness, efficiency and associated factors in the areas of logistics management, systems and equipment.

This work has been directed towards describing and codifying best practice in logistics in terms of defining terminology, describing tasks and responsibilities for Logistics-related jobs, and specifying appropriate educational requirements for those jobs. All of the possible improvements in logistics performance which should flow from systematically addressing terminology, jobs and education will be negated if the improvements are not sustained, still less built upon.

The performance measurements presented in this report are examples of generally-accepted best practices, but each enterprise must select those which are appropriate to its circumstances and objectives. This will greatly facilitate intra-firm and inter-firm comparisons by creating a common currency of logistics performance measures.

The Technical Committee CEN / TC 273 "Logistics" has also prepared a draft European Standard which establishes definitions for commonly used terms in logistics. It encompasses all aspects of logistics and supply chain management including transport. "Logistics" is now widely recognised as an important discipline within a variety of organisational types. It inevitably, already employs a range of terms which, whilst they are in common use, are frequently not commonly defined. In addition, with this wider application of the concept of logistics, new terms arise and the meanings of existing terms evolve, in an uncoordinated manner. This terminology standard is introduced in an effort to effect a level of control in this potentially confusing situation.

Lastly, Working Group 2 ("Logistics Functions") of CEN/TC 273 has presented an inventory and a summary of logistics activities as defined after questioning more than 500 industrial, commercial and service companies in seven European countries. This includes a list of "professional profiles" in which logistics activities play a predominant part.

This list is not strictly speaking a list of "jobs", although the professional logistics profiles may represent full-time occupation, but of profiles, classified according to the principal function of the company, that in all probability actually exist. Each of these profiles is not necessarily represented individually in each company, for reasons connected with the nature, specialisation and size of the companies.

Analysis of the activities comprising each profile points to three levels on which these activities are carried out:

• a conceptual level: choice of options, participation in drawing up strategy, determination of logistics objectives as part of department policy
• an organisational level: setting up and organising logistics operations
• an operational level: carrying out the operations.

Logistic support and connected activities are not included in this study; the area it analyses is basically that of supply chain logistics.

The ultimate aim of this work is to provide training bodies with as precise and detailed an image as possible of the various logistics jobs and their content so that the training bodies can ensure the training they provide does indeed correspond to what is required to be able to carry out logistics activities properly.

European professional diploma
This project came into being during the French presidency of the European Union, at the end of 2000. It involves nine partner countries, and is part of the current of Community initiatives in favour of a European space of knowledge and mobility. It presents a common method for constructing vocational education diplomas that could open up a new space for Community coordination in which the Member States would undertake to give their systems for vocational qualification a common foundation.

The process has been guided by the construction of a grid based on functional analysis. This analysis is based on demand on the part of professionals and requirements in terms of training or apprenticeship, and these two aspects are linked by the certification that attests the skills necessary for the person trained in carrying out the activity.

The common construction is based on the following outline:

• description of the professional activity, tasks and competences on the basis of common descriptors and not of a correspondence of the concepts used in the various educational systems
• construction of a method for drawing up certification objectives
• compilation of the component parts of a training guide.

The initial objective of the project was to devise two specific diplomas, including that of the logistics technician (two years after completion of upper secondary school education).

The common frame of reference for the activities of the logistics technician's diploma, which goes beyond the strictly sectoral framework, was constructed around a method of co-construction in which various Member States participated, as did various players, working together in teams within each Member State. The members of these national teams were representatives of each professional sector and of institutions, researchers and experts, ie the players who, according to national situations, determine the framework for diplomas and training content, or who are able to analyse or formalise specific aspects.

Social dialogue in the road transport sector
The Lisbon strategy of the European Council wants to deliver more jobs and growth in a knowledge-based economy and counts on a fruitful participation of social partners in this process; although the national practices and situations regarding industrial relations and vocational training in logistics, vary, indicating common orientations at the European level, may contribute

• to uplift the workers’ skills and competences in the different Member-States and companies, in particular there where little efforts have been made
• to improve the quality of the logistics services
• as well as to facilitate mobility of workers in the company and/or in logistics, in the European Union.

In accordance with its initial objectives, the NOVALOG project has made it possible, on the basis of a nomenclature, to pool and discuss the views of logistics jobs held by the social partners in the various Member States of the European Union through the Road Sectoral Committee. A working group on logistics was set up with the International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF), and met in the course of the project; it is now continuing as an autonomous body outside the project.

The project has resulted in a plan of action adopted by the social partners involved in the project; this proposes an approach in three stages:

1. First step : Request to the European Commission and to the Member-States regarding statistics on employment in logistics. A similar request is addressed to the Member-States.
2. Second step: Recommendation to the European Commission, the Member-States and the national social partners on the implementation of the Directive 89/655/EEC concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work. Making training compulsory, establishing a content of training by social partners and public authorities, has also to be broadened to other jobs related to warehouse operations when safe handling of work equipment is at stake.
3. Third step : Filling in a framework of actions for the lifelong development of competencies and qualifications’ to implement in logistics

The European social partners are of the opinion that employees should be offered an individual assessment of qualifications, aimed at recognizing the already obtained qualifications, whether this derives from education, training or job experience and encourage the social partners at the respective levels, according to national practices, to take this issue on board during their negotiations.
The European social partners encourage now the social partners at the sectoral, national, regional, company level, with the public authorities, according to national practices, to start discussing the use of the NOVALOG developed guidelines regarding a common framework of competences for warehouse related jobs, in order to identify and anticipate in a more rational way, their training needs. They say that in order to optimise the situation in the sector, the social partners should join efforts to enhance the competence development of the workers in the sector.

Social dialogue within the road transport sector
related to logistics: process and outcomes

All this range of experience tending towards the establishment of a "common European standard" would appear to be profitable for the social partners and for the people and bodies involved in vocational training and favourable for certification procedures; this experience is now linked to the real national situations and set out in a framework as a result of the NOVALOG project.