It started less than three years ago as a once-a-month field trip designed to familiarize area high school students with the kinds of careers available in the growing logistics industry.
“Follow the Container” took students and their teachers to Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City Terminal, where they watched ship-to-shore cranes unload containers from ships onto the beds of waiting tractor-trailer trucks. From there, the group followed a truck through customs and security and over the road to its designated warehouse/distribution center.
They watched as the container was unloaded and “cross-docked” — its contents palletized, repackaged and grouped for shipping to their final customers.
The container might hold anything from electronic games to running shoes to cookware sets, and the final customers could be different locations of the same store or a number of different stores.
Along the way, field-trip sponsors — Georgia Ports Authority, Savannah Technical College and freight forwarder D.J. Powers, to name just a few — offered presentations on the types of jobs available in the logistics industry.
“Follow the Container” was an almost instant hit, with more students, teachers and maritime businesses signing on to participate. Before long, the half-day field trip had evolved into the Maritime Logistics Task Force — a coalition of resources designed to reach, educate and grow the future workforce of the area’s logistics and maritime industry.
MLET partners now include the Propeller Club for the Port of Savannah, Savannah Traffic Club, Savannah Maritime Association, the Independent Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association of Savannah, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, the Navy League Savannah Council and the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System.
Last spring, MLET and the school system matched 12 high school students with area logistics providers for paid, after-school internships.
Through the program, each student worked four hours a day for 10 weeks, amassing a total of 200 hours of experience.
In May, the program wrapped up with a luncheon and closing ceremony at Woodville-Tompkins Technical and Career High School.
Kody Kirkland from Jenkins High School spent his internship with the Savannah office of United Arab Shipping Co.
“I expected to be sitting behind a desk, typing on a computer,” Kirkland said. “That was fine with me. I tend to be shy and have trouble talking to people.”
That was then.
After 10 weeks as a customer service representative, he had learned not only to talk to clients with confidence but to also help pinpoint and resolve their issues.
“The knowledge and the people skills I’ve developed I wouldn’t trade for the world,” he said.
Malachi Smith agreed.
“All our school life we’re taught that our education will prepare us for the working world,” the Jenkins High student said. “But what I learned was that there is more to work than book knowledge. At JCB, I learned how to be a good employee, how to get along with my supervisors and co-workers.
“I learned that knowledge alone won’t help you if you don’t have good communications skills.”
Earlier this month, another ceremony at Woodville-Tompkins was held, this one to welcome the second class of MLET interns, who will begin in the New Year. Students came from Jenkins with a focus on engineering, from Woodville Tompkins with a focus on mechanical and robotics, from Johnson with a focus on international business and marketing and from Groves with a focus on logistics and transportation.
While many in the logistics community credit David “Fish” Mihuta, a sales representative with Freightliner of Savannah, with being the driving force behind MLET, he is quick to point out the program’s success is due to the number and variety of partners who are involved.
The organization approved bylaws last week and MLET will file for 501(c)3 nonprofit status in January.
Mihuta said he hopes the entire maritime community will eventually get on board.
“I believe this program will raise awareness of all the good jobs available in logistics right here in the Coastal Empire,” he said. “And that has the potential to help both Chatham County students and our maritime community for years to come.”
About the Honorees
As 2013 comes to a close, the Savannah Morning News and Savannahnow continue the tradition of profiling companies and organizations that made major contributions to the local business environment in the past year. The Business in Savannah staff chose the honorees from a list of nominees submitted by local business and community leaders, utilizing broad criteria – from growth and success to philanthropy and community involvement.
Wednesday: SBAC — Business Advocate of the Year
Thursday: River Street Sweets — Retail Business of the Year
Today: MLET — Business Education Partner of the Year
Saturday: Entrepreneurial Business of the Year
Sunday: Manufacturer of the Year
Dec. 31: Small Business of the Year
Jan. 1: Newcomer of the Year