By Ian Griffin
Staff Writer
Northeast Texas Community College will start a new three course program on March 21, 2022 offering logistics as an online program of study. The course will be an eight week cohort program and in the summer, there will be another cohort program of logistics that is ten weeks long.
Currently, there is a gap in the workforce, and the logistics program is designed to help fill the industry vacancies. There will be three online courses offered, consisting of Warehouse & Distribution Management, Introduction to Materials Handling, and Introduction to Business Logistics. These three classes are tailored to lead to accreditation in logistics once the student completes the program. Once the three courses are completed, the students will be equipped with the tools to pass the Manufacturing Skills Standard Council Exam, which is vital in the field of logistics.
¡°Logistics is in high demand,¡± Jimmy Smith, NTCC workforce developer, said. ¡°The ability to forecast commodity shortfalls and find alternative solutions while having a firm grasp on supply and distribution procedures is imperative for the success of a logistician. In the last six months, there have been questions regarding the strength of the logistic pipeline in America. Logistics touches every facet of life, and there is a need for people who can be experts in logistics.¡±
The logistics program is planting the seeds for further and more extensive programs to follow later.
¡°The true need of the community college is to be flexible,¡± Smith said. ¡°To react to the immediate response and demands from the community and lay the foundation for us to be proactive instead of reactive. This gives us the model to follow.¡±
Students who sign up for the program can also apply for financial assistance through the Texas Reskilling & Upskilling through Education Initiative Grants. A new logistics program with the ability to lessen the economic toll on the students while helping the community is indeed a good thing. Smith said ¡°we want to be a college that takes care of the needs of the community.¡±