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Everybody has heard by now that health care companies are promising hunting grounds for job seekers, and the New Year will see hiring perk up elsewhere, too.
眾所周知，醫療保健行業明年將涌現大量招聘需求。然而熱門就業領域并不僅限于此。
But when you think of fields where there just aren't enough skilled candidates to go around, one that probably doesn't come to mind is supply chain management: The complicated, behind-the-scenes work of getting goods from one place to another, on time and on budget.
到底有哪些行業急需專業人才？說起這個問題，你可能怎么也不會想到“供應鏈管理”：這是一項復雜的幕后工作，負責將貨物從甲地運到乙地，不僅要準時，還不能超支。
A shortage of qualified supply chain managers right now, especially in global companies that must coordinate far-flung operations, can be traced to two factors.
眼下，合格的供應鏈經理極度缺乏，在那些分支機構遍布全球的跨國公司中尤其如此。究其原因，不外以下兩點。
First, says Tom Kozenski, a supply-chain expert at consulting and training firm RedPrairie, most people still think of logistics -- if they think of it at all -- as a "non-sexy" field centered on boring, low-paid warehouse work.
首先，正如咨詢與培訓機構RedPrairie公司的供應鏈專家湯姆•科贊斯基所言，一提到物流行業，多數人都覺得它“沒有吸引力”，是一項乏味且薪水不高的倉儲工作。
And second, while perceptions haven't changed much, the reality has: Making sure stuff gets where it needs to go, as cheaply and efficiently as possible, has evolved into a high-tech, high-stakes game that calls for a scarce combination of "hard" and "soft" skills.
其次，盡管人們還守著老的觀念，現實卻已經發生了變化：供應鏈管理——也就是確保貨物以盡可能低的價格和盡可能高的效率到達目的地——已經成為一項高科技、高風險的行業了。它要求從業者“硬件能力”和“軟件能力”缺一不可，而能達到這種要求的人才實在很少。
A new MIT white paper, ominously entitled "Are You Prepared for the Supply Chain Talent Crisis?," bears that out. Supply chain managers need sophisticated tech skills, sure, but they also have to be adept at "high-order diplomacy," expert at general business strategy and problem solving, and able to "thrive in ambiguity," the study says.
麻省理工學院（MIT）最近發表了一份白皮書。雖然該報告的題目聽起來不免有些不吉利——《你是否已為供應鏈人才危機做好準備？》（Are You Prepared for the Supply Chain Talent Crisis?），卻一語中的。這項研究表明，供應鏈經理需要掌握先進的技術技能，同時還得具備“高度的外交手腕”，精通總體業務戰略，能嫻熟地解決各類問題，要能在混沌狀態中求生存。
It's a tall order, but if you want to go after one of the thousands of supply-chain jobs that are going begging, a solid start would be logistics training, available at many colleges and universities. Some programs, like Penn State's graduate certificate in supply chain management, are offered online.
這樣的要求不可謂不苛刻。現在，有上千個供應鏈崗位正虛位以待。如果你希望謀求此類職位，可行之策是先接受物流培訓。目前有許多學院和大學都提供此類培訓，其中有些是在線課程，如美國賓州州立大學（Penn State）就提供在線供應鏈管理研究生培訓，并頒發證書。
The shortage of supply-chain talent explains why 48% of U.S. companies plan to snap up logistics grads in 2011, according to a new survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
美國大學與雇主協會（National Association of Colleges and Employers）進行的一項新研究表明，48%的美國公司計劃于2011年招募物流專業研究生。供應鏈管理人才稀缺的現象，恰恰印證了這一調研結果。
