San Francisco-based real estate investment trust Prologis Inc. (NYSE: PLD) announced plans to prepare 25,000 people for a career in transportation, distribution and logistics through its Prologis Community Workforce Initiative (CWI), which was launched in 2018.
The plan seeks to improve career pathways and create economic opportunity throughout the communities where it operates, according to the Wednesday press release. Prologis CWI has teamed up with national workforce nonprofit JFF to build a pipeline of new talent for its customers by the close of 2025.
The two organizations have created a digital learning and development program for the logistics workforce. In addition to basic workforce skills, the program will offer training tailored for the logistics industry, including workplace safety and forklift operation. Prologis has created a logistics industry certification program to “serve as a standard for core skills in the transportation and distribution sectors.”
“Logistics provides meaningful long-term careers in communities large and small, and our expanded Prologis CWI programs will help individuals take the first step toward a promising career path in this dynamic industry,” said Prologis CEO Hamid Moghadam. “Now more than ever, our customers have informed us that they are facing a serious hiring gap, and we believe this collaborative effort can help bridge the connection between the public and private sectors.”
Prologis will provide job seekers with job placement services like online training resources, career guidance, coaching and introduction to regional employment opportunities. The company plans to fund partnerships with “community-based organizations, community colleges and workforce development boards,” beginning in Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Tracy and Long Beach, California. The program will expand to other areas in 2021.
“Prologis’ commitment to rapidly prepare 25,000 displaced workers for in-demand roles in a large and growing industry is the type of proactive leadership we want to see in this moment of crisis. Its benefits will be profound for workers, employers and the broader economy,” said JFF President and CEO Maria Flynn.
The program is being tested with several of Prologis’ customers, including logistics providers GEODIS and NFI Industries.
“As a supplement to our internal learning programs, we’ve seen firsthand its impact in helping supervisors and frontline leaders realize their potential as they grow into rewarding careers in logistics, and it aligns well with a GEODIS leadership principle of engaging and empowering people,” said Shannon Leffler, GEODIS in Americas senior vice president of human resources.
Prologis said recent customer surveys have identified labor as a “top concern.” The release also cited estimates for 600,000 new jobs in the fields of transportation, warehousing and adjacencies by 2026. Thirteen million people were employed in transportation and logistics during 2019, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.