DuPage Workforce Board

Transportation, Warehousing, Logistics

The Transportation, Warehousing and Logistics (TWL) sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in the Chicago region. Due to the expanding global market and the cost saving use of just-in-time inventory management practices, the demand for material movement is growing dramatically.

The TWL Summit was convened in 2004, drawing over 250 stakeholders from the region. The summit provided a forum to identify and discuss workforce challenges to the industry. The complete TWL Summit report highlights their findings. 

As a result of the summit and work with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's Critical Skills Shortage Initiative, Transportation, Warehousing, and Logistics Workforce A Job Market in Motion was published. This report provides a snapshot of the workforce challenges facing the metropolitan Chicago region's TWL industry and focuses on unfilled jobs, skill gaps, and related human resource and training issues. The report also includes solutions developed by the region's TWL stakeholders and a description of initiatives funded under the Critical Skills Shortage Initiative.

The DuPage Workforce Board worked with other Workforce Boards in the region to host a Going Places teleconference event in fall of 2005 for career counselors to enlighten them on the changing jobs within this sector. The Council of Supply Chain Management provided their latest video, "What in the World is the Global Supply Chain" to hundreds of counselors throughout the Chicagoland area for use in their local high schools, colleges and career centers.

A DuPage County Focus Group was conducted on July 25, 2006 to discuss next steps in working together to solve the shortage of qualified workers in this industry sector.  A TWL Career Night  and Job Fair are being planned for first quarter of 2007.

The Illinois Workforce Investment Boards'sTWL Task Force recently met and their findings are addressed in IWIB Transportation and Logistics Task Force handouts.