NEW WORKERS NEEDED IN LOGISTICS FIELD.

Byline: RODNEY TANAKA Staff Writer

POMONA -- The movement of goods has become a key industry in Southern California, but the supply of skilled workers is lagging behind.

A new coalition of educators, business owners and public officials is working toward maximizing the potential of logistics as an industry.

The California Transportation and Logistics Institute, developed by the California Community Colleges System Office, California State University System, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. and Southern California Leadership Council, kicked off Monday with a workshop at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, to address the increasing importance of logistics in the global economy.

At least 43 percent of imports to the U.S. enter through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, said Ray Holdsworth, co-chairman of the Southern California Leadership Council. In 2005, the two ports handled $264 billion in trade.

The area serves as the gateway of products from the East traveling east to the rest of the country, said Victoria Bradshaw, secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

Eighty percent of the logistics work force is midlevel and above -- high wage, high skill, high growth, technology-driven positions.

``We bemoan lost manufacturing, but only 40 percent of manufacturing is midlevel or above,'' Bradshaw said.

Taking a leading role in logistics will continue to make California a major player in the global economy, she said.

Logistics covers everything from basic warehousing to laser scanning to global positioning systems, Bradshaw said. Logistics also involves transportation, navigation and supply chain management.

The transportation and logistics industry will grow in Southern California by 348,479 jobs by 2030, about 12 percent of the total new jobs in the area, according to the institute.

Logistics is replacing manufacturing as the No. 1 growth job, said Mark Drummond, chancellor of the California Community Colleges System Office.

Logistics courses and training exists in bits and pieces, but there is nothing comprehensive, he said.

One goal of the institute is to connect businesses with colleges and fill these missing links, Drummond said. Employers can tell educators about available job openings and the skills required to fill those jobs.

Schools can then create a clear curriculum for training and students will know the proper training they need.

``People will know there are pathways to these jobs,'' Drummond said.

For more information, call the California Transportation and Logistics Institute at [phone].

rodney.tanaka(at)sgvn.com

[phone], Ext. 2230