Passionate about his former career in the Logistics industry, Lone Star College-CyFair’s Professor Matthew Berta is now focused on preparing the next generation of Logistics professionals to work in one of Cy-Fair’s in-demand and the nation’s fast-growing industries..
“Logistics is more than just local parcel delivery and warehouse work. It is an industry with a lot of moving parts, covering a very large distance,” said Berta, who further describes the field as never boring with opportunities to travel to multiple countries learning the culture as well as making business contacts and friends all over the world like he did.
There are hundreds of positions in Houston in this extremely wide industry, said Berta, adding that in the Cy-Fair area alone, according to Indeed, there are more than 1,900 jobs available.
Among the types of jobs he said his students could do are:
- Physical Oil Scheduler
- Material Planner or Buyer
- Site or Transportation Manager
- Customer Service Logistics Coordinator
- Overnight Transportation Supervisor
- Inventory or Senior Supply Chain Specialist
- Dispatcher, Inventory Specialist or Warehouse Administrator
- Logistics Advisor, Logistics Execution Analyst or Freight Broker
- Sales Representative, Account Manager or Executive (at a logistics firm)
The local employment opportunities are what drew Tanner Shanks, one of Berta’s students, to pursue logistics as a career. His interest is in Supply Chain Logistics, which he describes as “the umbrella and a niche field” in the wide, but still fairly new industry of logistics.
In fact, Shanks not only just earned his First Line Logistics Leader Certificate, but he has been hired for his first position on the path to a successful future in logistics.
“I wanted to stay in the Houston area, especially with family and friends here, and looked for something that was stable for the long-term, that's not going away,” he said. “And that’s logistics - people are always going to need stuff to go from point A to point B.”
Shanks said among the takeaways from Berta’s class were about efficiency - “it’s something that's super important in our field” - and adaptability - “a skill of being able to react to different situations that arise, not freak out if it’s something you don’t expect, and to find a solution.”
He added that Berta is a resource for help in networking and connecting with logistics-related professional organizations, including joining as a member.
Berta’s expertise prior to teaching his passion was in Freight Forwarding, which was collecting, packing and moving oilfield material and equipment for a company like Shell to the west coast of Africa for example. His workforce career culminated in Project Cargo for DHL - a global leader in international shipping.
“There were times I was chartering multiple ships and planes to move cargo to a foreign destination. It takes a lot of planning, hard work, and sometimes some luck to move something the size of a football field to another country,” he said. “I was very proud of my work there. This kind of work is always a bit challenging, but that's honestly what makes it rewarding.”
Berta said LSC-CyFair’s First Line Logistics Leader Certificate also gets students two other certifications - Certified Logistics Technicians and Certified Logistics Associates - through the college’s Texas Skills Standard Board (TSSB) accreditation.
Students who complete another 41 hours can obtain an Associate of Applied Science in Logistics Management degree. In addition, the LSC-CyFair Logistics Management Program feeds directly into LSC’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Energy Manufacturing and Trades Management and high transfer rates to the University of Houston and Texas A&M Galveston, which both offer Logistics bachelor programs.
It’s not too late to register for fall classes. Check out the Next Start classes that range from eight to 14 weeks. For information, go to LoneStar.edu/Class-Start-Options