A Comment from Adele Casciaro, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist – Supply Chain Management, Procurement & Change Management

My thoughts today were inspired by an encouraging article I read about the heightened and growing awareness of Supply Chain as a career choice. Why, because interest is growing exponentially and I am excited by that. It’s heartening to see it as a higher discipline of choice because enrollment is definitely on the rise at educational institutions everywhere. Supply Chain Programs are getting lots of face time on the internet and in the media as hot choices for post secondary education. Courses are definitely not lightweight – nice to see more robust offerings where graduates are getting snapped up as soon as they enter the workforce. There is certainly more to read through the link to the article at the end of my blog and I encourage you to read it.

I also wanted to make mention of something that happened in my office just this last week. A foreign professional came into our office seeking information about work qualifications as it was his plan to shortly immigrate to Canada. Currently an Industrial Engineer in Mexico, he was investigating his interest in a career move into Supply Chain Management. I couldn’t impress upon him more that his decision to choose SCM as a career was a good one.

Here’s something interesting – Mind you, these are US numbers but Canada by and large mirrors the US closely – that Colleges and Universities are reporting that according to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the number of undergraduate SCM programs has increased 25 percent since 2006. Almost half that jump happened during the 2009-10 school year.  Increased job openings, competitive salaries and advancement have caused the academic community to take notice and more students have begun focusing on the subject and more programs offering courses and concentrations in it. 

In light of this, I often recommend to my network that if one is looking to make a career shift into SCM or for foreigners looking to enter into the Canadian market place – supply chain is HOT and an area of critical skill shortage. I recommend it – including Procurement and Strategic Sourcing too as the area to specialize in. 

In Canada especially as well as the US, Supply Chain Management remains in extremely high demand and supply is at an all time low.  Graduates are coming out of school and immediately finding positions at top companies relative to other specializations. “Supply Chain Management majors and MBAs are in demand. Carey School of Business reports a 100 percent placement rate for the supply chain MBAs who graduated in May, compared with 75 percent for marketing students. This year, more than 40 companies recruited Carey MBA grads specifically for supply chain jobs, and the biyearly SCM career fairs at Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business attract more than 60 different employers.”

This stuff is MUSIC to our ears as specialist Recruiters in Supply Chain Management.

Compensation is another huge draw! “The Institute for Supply Chain Management’s 2011 survey shows that the average salary for supply chain management professionals is $103,664, up from $98,200 a year earlier. The average entry-level professional supply management salary is about $49,500, but the average salary of those with five or fewer years of experience is $83,689, up from $72,908 in 2010, an increase of nearly 15 percent.”

Here is the article which I thought was very interesting. For one who has been in this recruiting area for years, all I can say is this. Pick Supply Chain. It’s a great career. If I can be of any help taking a look at the market with you as a passive candidate, contact me at acasciaro@argentus.com. I am happy to help.