What started less than two years ago as a field trip designed to familiarize area high school students with the logistics industry has blossomed into a full-fledged program with the ability to shape the future maritime workforce in Savannah and beyond.
The brainchild of Freightliner Trucks sales exec David “Fish” Mihuta and Robert Dowd of Savannah’s Port City Logistics, “Follow the Container” allowed students and their teachers to see what’s involved in getting merchandise from manufacturer to store shelf.
Starting at Georgia Ports’ Garden City Terminal, where containers are unloaded onto trucks, the group followed a container from ship to truck, through customs and security and over the road to a designated warehouse/distribution facility. There, they watched as it was unloaded and “cross-docked” — palletized, repackaged and reloaded for shipping to the final customer.
Georgia Ports Authority, Savannah Technical College and freight forwarder D.J. Powers were among the first to sign on to help Freightliner and Port City sponsor the field trips, each offering a presentation on the types of jobs available in the logistics area.
Last week, Mihuta spoke to the Propeller Club of Savannah, updating the maritime business group on how “Follow the Container” has evolved into the Maritime Logistics Education Taskforce, a collaboration of resources designed to reach, educate and grow the current and future workforce of the logistics and maritime industry in Savannah and the surrounding areas.
The task force has already done a lot of the heavy lifting, meeting with senior management at GPA as well as schools superintendent Thomas Lockamy, high school executive director Aretha Rhone-Bush and Angie Lewis, high school program manager.
In addition to continuing the “Follow the Container” tours, they have interviewed hiring managers and human resources personnel at several big box distribution centers and met with representatives at Savannah Tech as well as Armstrong Atlantic and Georgia Southern universities.
They have developed a brochure outlining the wide variety of logistics-based careers available in the area and — working the public school system — have produced a three-minute video designed to spark student interest in a logistics educational pathway.
In the spring, the group hopes to sponsor 28 students — seven from each of four local high schools — for 10-week internships.
“The students will be placed in different areas of the maritime and logistics industry to work four hours a day, five days a week,” Mihuta said.
“At the end of the 10 weeks, we’ll have 28 students, each with 200 hours of practical experience, ready to go to work.”
Students will come 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.
A number of companies had already signed on to host a student intern, and several more stepped up after the Propeller Club meeting, Mihuta said earlier this week.
He hopes the entire maritime community will eventually get involved.
“I believe this internship 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.”
GET INVOLVED
For more information on the Maritime Logistics Education Taskforce, contact David Mihuta at davidm@freightlinerofsavannah.com or 912-655-8518.
ON THE WEB
To watch the video on logistics education pathways, go to:
http://video214.com/play/1e0IsYHGhuBfx4xGyvK2yg/s/dark
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
SHIPPING SCHEDULE
These are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean Terminals in the next week. Sailing schedules are provided by Georgia Ports Authority and are subject to change.
Terminal Ship name Arrival
GPA AL NOOF today
GPA MSC TOKYO today
GPA MSC EUGENIA Saturday
GPA OOCL AMERICA Saturday
GPA ANNA MAERSK Saturday
GPA MSC TEXAS Saturday
GPA NORTHERN HONOUR Saturday
GPA EVER DIAMOND Saturday
GPA MARFRET SORMIOU Saturday
GPA WASHINGTON EXPRESS Saturday
GPA SAIGON EXPRESS Sunday
GPA ARENDAL Sunday
GPA MSC MICHAELA Sunday
OT BBC WINTER Sunday
OT ATLANTIC GLORY Monday
OT TALISMAN Monday
GPA GENOA EXPRESS Monday
GPA UASC JEDDAH Monday
GPA ATHENA Monday
GPA AGNES RICKMERS Monday
GPA STUTTGART EXPRESS Tuesday
GPA MAERSK DHAHRAN Tuesday
GPA MOL ENDURANCE Tuesday
GPA ZIM TARRAGONA Tuesday
GPA CMA CGM MATISSE Tuesday
GPA MSC SUSANNA Tuesday
GPA GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE Tuesday
GPA HANJIN SHANGHAI Tuesday
GPA YM ENHANCER Wednesday
GPA KOBE EXPRESS Wednesday
GPA ARSOS Wednesday
GPA RIO DE JANEIRO EXPRESS Wednesday
GPA SEA-LAND METEOR Wednesday
GPA MOL TYNE Wednesday
GPA APL OMAN Wednesday
OT COMMON CALYPSO Wednesday
OT TITANIA Wednesday
OT STAR ISFJORD Wednesday
OT AUSTANGER Thursday
OT LORD VISHNU Thursday
GPA CSCL BRISBANE Thursday
GPA DUSSELDORF EXPRESS Thursday
GPA CMA CGM CORAL Thursday
GPA MSC ALICANTE Thursday
GPA PRESIDENT POLK Thursday
GPA MAERSK DENPASAR Thursday
GPA OOCL ANTWERP Thursday
GPA ZIM PANAMA Thursday
GPA NYK NEBULA Thursday
GPA MAERSK ROUBAIX Thursday