In 2008, Logistics was designated as one of the ten industries for development
in China, and where related education will be provided. There is a lack of six
million people specifically trained in logistics (China Logistics and Purchasing
Association 2009). Among them, the shortage of advanced managers is about 30 to
50 thousand, and more than 100 thousand others in operations or sales could
benefit from logistics training.
In order to regularize the human resources market in Logistics, the Chinese
Logistics and Purchasing Association began in 2003 to assist the Ministry of Labor
and Social Security. National standards were established for training and or degree
requirements in certificate Logistics. In 2004, training and examination locations
were set up in over 25 provinces or regions. Since then, more than 5,000 people
have obtained Bachelors or Masters degrees (Wu 2009a). About 340 universities
and 730 advanced polytechnic schools have now set up a logistics major. In the
polytechnic case, approximately 35,000 students have graduated or are presently
enrolled in that major. Today, other organizations in 37 cities offer training in
logistics (China Logistics and Purchasing Association 2009). Those organizations
include training companies, logistics research institutes and universities, and
consulting firms that will invite academic or industrial experts to provide help in
training.