Workforce

The port of the future is one that interlaces logistics needs, community expectations and shipping/cargo demands in addition to planning on terminal growth and change. As ports are modernizing, growing and changing, master planners are coming up with ways to creatively incorporate innovative ideas that wind together and present a user-, community- and business-friendly front.

Sometimes heroes are hidden, but other times their accomplishments even earn recognition from outside organizations. Here are just a few of our 2019 hidden heroes.

When it comes to letting their employees know how important they are, ports are stepping up – way up.

Thirty-one ports earned accolades and three received an Overall Award of Communications Excellence trophy for submitting top-scoring entries in AAPA’s 53rd annual Communications Awards Program. The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has notified 31 of its 130-member seaports throughout the Western Hemisphere that they’ve earned one or more awards for exemplary communications projects and programs as part of the ...

Taking the time to invest in career growth might seem to fall at the end of a very long to-do list. The payoff, however, can be deep and extend well beyond that next career move. Follow these up-and-coming leaders sharing these personal and insightful stories. * By Sandy Smith * Port leaders – whether departmental leaders or at the top ...

Apprenticeship Programs: Tried, True and Effective A centuries-old method of training skilled workers could help supply ports and their maritime partners with the modern workforce they need. * By Mary Lou Jay * Apprenticeships have long been a well-established and well-respected route to good jobs, but for a time they fell out of favor because of the perception that college ...

Defining where worker training and development should start and where it should end may be the answer. * By Lori Musser * Ports generate plenty of jobs. In the United States, alone, there were 31 million at last count – 2.3 million within the port sector and the remainder in related industries. Filling all these positions with top-notch talent and ...

Ports seek skilled, experienced workers to tackle security needs, including rising demands on the cybersecurity front. * By Tom Gresham * The growing economy and corresponding increase in activity at the nation’s ports have put pressure on the security side of port operations, officials say. More traffic means more to protect – and to protect against. However, the strength of ...

Twenty-five of AAPA’s member seaports earned awards for exemplary communications projects and programs as part of the 52nd annual AAPA Communications Awards Program. * By Aaron Ellis * APA’s communications competition, which began in 1966, recognizes excellence in the products and services that ports produce to meet their public relations and marketing goals. In mid-June, AAPA announced that 25 of ...

Ensuring a safe work environment means far more than creating a plan and practicing it once in a while. It means taking a holistic approach that encompasses everyone.  * By Sandy Smith * Natural disasters. Chemical releases. Transport accidents. Most ports have plans in place to deal with these situations. But ensuring a safe work environment means far more than ...