Shifting the needle – Part two: CITT

Do you know what Canadian industry associations are doing to improve business conditions in 2023? Here’s a primer on what some of the major industry groups are tackling this year.

Canadian Institute for Traffic and Transportation (CITT)

Mandate

CITT serves the Canadian logistics and transportation sector – both organizations and individuals. Individuals come to CITT for professional development and to be part of an interactive and connected network of industry professionals. Businesses come to CITT to develop their people, and for a range of HR needs, such as recruitment and retention. CITT also serves organizations interested in creating new business relationships with shippers or carriers. We also serve academic institutions with curriculum, recognition of their programs, and as a bridge to connect their students with industry.

Our mandate is to bring together and support everyone in Canadian logistics for our collective benefit. We help individuals and organizations do the business of logistics better – be it through training, certification, hiring, retention, business development and much more. And we endorse and celebrate organizations and people who demonstrate excellence in our field.

Today’s challenges

The transportation industry faces many hurdles in the short and long term. But the biggest challenge remains talent. We believe that the right people with the right expertise can solve nearly any problem facing industry today – as well as find new opportunities. But there’s competition for talent from other industries, as well as from within our own, and the common lack of investment in developing and keeping people. With rare exceptions, the only businesses we speak with that don’t have difficulty hiring and retaining people are those that have made talent a top strategic priority.

2023 priorities

One of our top priorities is to connect industry. CITT is the nexus for organizations and people involved in logistics and we want to develop formal and informal ways for industry to connect. Particularly, we’ve been growing our collaborations with other industry associations.

We recently enabled anyone in industry to formally become part of our organization as affiliates of CITT. We’re putting a big focus on growing awareness that anyone in and around logistics can join CITT and become part of Canada’s logistics community.

A few years ago, we undertook the important work of developing a competency profile of the logistics professional. We built it in close collaboration with industry and experts from across sectors. As the competency profile is a cornerstone of our learning offerings and the CCLP designation, it’s crucial that we audit the competencies and update them frequently.

As I mentioned, talent and people is one of, if not the most important challenge facing our industry today. To help organizations tackle this, we’re collaborating directly with HR departments. Be it working to build an employee value proposition, hiring, training and beyond, we’re putting a major focus on helping HR build and keep talent.

Recent wins

CITT has made big strides in opening up and becoming an organization that anyone in and involved in logistics can be a part of. Starting with the faster challenge exam to the CCLP designation, and now with anyone able to become part of CITT as an affiliate, we’re now truly an association for the whole industry.

Another win is our corporate endorsement programs – Endorsed Logistics Employer, and Endorsed Business Partner. We endorse and partner with organizations in need of talent solutions, and those looking to form new business relationships. We’ve already formally endorsed and partners across industry, and we’re looking forward to many more collaborations in the years to come.