Dive Brief:

• APICS launched its new Supply Chain STEM Educational Outreach Program Monday in order to familiarize K-12 students with the supply chain, according to a press release.
• The program seeks to explain the importance of the profession, demonstrate how supply chain management works and ultimately share appealing career paths within the field.
• Ideally, the program would interest enough individuals to help offset the 60 million retiring baby boomers by 2025. Intel is the founding corporate sponsor, with help from professionals from MIT, Michigan State University, and Arizona State University.

Dive Insight:

Forecasts on the exact number of job openings within the supply chain change all the time, but one fact remains clear: A talent crisis is on the horizon. As a result, corporations and industry associations are actively working to mitigate the risk that lies ahead.

High school programs meant to steer students into one of the various fields are appearing, as are numerous higher education programs meant to train workers in the analytic aspects of running a successful supply chain. But is the real excitement of science, or technology, or engineering, or math (STEM) coming too late in these cases? Are students simply making a career choice rather than having a passion?

Capable workers are always vital, especially one in which countless openings are appearing on a daily basis. Yet most professions also require the inspired and the driven to turn a profession into a calling, which in turn motivates a worker to expand the field itself. Inspiration can come at any age, or any stage of learning. Yet kindling an interest in the young is a way to promote an avocation, rather than just a vocation.