A GENERATION gap across the logistics field in the West has sparked concern among the growing industry.

The Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council has claimed the ageing workforce would be unable to meet future demands.

Senior workforce development consultant Cinthia Del Grosso said companies needed to have plans in place to counter the shrinking local labour pool.

“The West of Melbourne is the transport hub of Victoria with airports, Australia’s largest container port and rail services representing tens of thousands of jobs,” she said.

Ms Del Grosso said the global economic crisis provided the opportune time to slow down and consider where the industry was headed.

A Transport Employment Summit Road Map of the Future for the West was held last week at the Sanctuary Lakes Resort.

“Whilst schools continue to engage in traditional trade and business courses, little attention is given to engaging in the less traditional VET area of transport and logistics,” Ms Del Grosso said.

“While over 90 per cent of all schools provide some VET studies, less than one per cent have a relationship to the transport industry.”

The session also provided stakeholders with information about government programs that were available to support the current and future workforce.