Skills-matching tool for the supply chain sector

Mississauga, Ontario—The Canadian Supply Chain Sector Council has launched Connector, an online tool almost two years in the making.

“We are very excited to launch Connector,” says the Council’s Executive Director, Kevin Maynard. “Connector will give employers in our sector a means to assess skills and knowledge, and then to fill the gaps it identifies. It will provide learning activities and recommendations to upgrade competencies in a wide range of supply chain occupations.”

Users of Connector take assessments to evaluate their skills and knowledge with respect to the 48 occupations for which the Council has written occupational standards, roles chosen through industry consultation as fundamental to the sector. The tool gauges industry knowledge related to those roles in seven areas, as well as relevant skills in writing, numeracy, document use and so on.

Based on skill and knowledge gaps identified through the assessments, Connector generates customized learning plans and activities users can do to improve their know-how. It also links to courses and programs, offered by associations, training organizations, colleges and universities across Canada, focused on the topics where more knowledge is required.

For employers, Connector addresses several significant challenges in the workplace. It can be used, for example, to:

• Prescreen job candidates to improve hiring and retention;
• Appraise the abilities of foreign-trained applicants relative to Canadian industry standards;
• Reveal where training is most required by employees;
• Develop career-path and succession plans.

Created with significant input from industry and thoroughly tested by industry, Connector is intended to help supply chain employers meet their pressing need for more-skilled workers.

The tool was designed to also help individuals seeking information about careers in the supply chain. Its links to occupational standards and profiles will enable people to discover what’s required to work in key supply chain occupations, and assessment outcomes will alert them to gaps they need to fill to do the jobs that interest them.

Career counsellors can use Connector’s occupational profiles to match clients or students to fitting occupations, then help them to understand the skills required, and where to pursue them, to get job-ready.

Beta tester Corrie Banks, president of Calgary-based Triskele Logistics Ltd, calls Connector a “game changer” for the sector. Her enthusiasm is widely shared by other beta testers of the tool.

Case studies related to some of their experiences with Connector are available, along with the tool, at www.supplychaincanada.org/en/Connector.