The Transportation and Logistics Society was recently awarded Club of the Year by the Student Government Club Alliance. This is its second recognition since the club was established in 2002.
The Transportation and Logistics Flagship Program, ranked 13th in the nation by Supply Chain Management Review 2005, made great strides connecting the club with the local transportation and logistics network, an often overlooked industry with a viable job outlook, said Lynn Brown, Associate Director of TLS.
“Logistics is considered one of the four super-sectors in Jacksonville’s economy,” Brown said.
And with approximately 650 firms in the transportation and logistics field in Jacksonville alone, the opportunity for students to gain relevant knowledge is there, she said.
“One thing we do quite well with the business community in Jacksonville is private tours of facilities not made to the public,” Brown said.
These include an extra-exclusive tour of the Budweiser facility in Jacksonville as well as an upcoming tour of the new Sears distribution center to talk about operations, she said.
Brown attributes the growth and success of TLS to the demand for a highly skilled workforce and the activity of the Jacksonville Port Authority, she said.
In conjunction with the Coggin College of Business, TLS organizes an annual Career Day that provides students with one-on-one interviews with recruiters offering job positions, networking options and a sense of the success one can achieve in the industry.
Last year, 22 companies came to the Career Day and completed more than 300 interviews with more than 40 students, Brown said.
The recruiters included five alumni who came to represent the various companies and told students of their success in the business.
The Career Day’s popularity has prompted officials to add a second event date each year.
“We did a survey last spring after the career day, and it was pretty overwhelmingly in favor of twice a year, which shows you the demand,” Brown said.
Samantha Joseph, Co-Marketing director for TLS, wants to use the club as a tool to create awareness in a sometimes-overlooked job field and agrees the way goods and services come to job seekers is an important process, she said.
“[Transportation] touches every part of business in life down to the bottles of water you drink,” Joseph said. “Through UNF and using all the tools we have, hopefully we can produce workers who can make a difference in the field through innovation and design.”
She is excited to see future workers in the field earn a ludicrous living while making a difference in the world, she said.
David Aaron, a senior double-majoring in marketing and transportation and logistics was recently inducted as a new member to TLS at its first meeting Sept. 10.
Aaron was attracted to the club because of its notoriety and the many job positions available in the field, he said.
“I joined TLS to have experience and try to network my way into the business by the time I graduate and find where I fit in,” Aaron said.
E-mail Jonathan Morales at news@unfspinnaker.com.
