We're keen to inspire the next generation to explore careers in food commodities, logistics and supply chain management. By welcoming school groups, university students and apprentices to our sites, we provide hands-on insight into our industry, helping young people develop new skills, broaden their understanding and discover the wide range of career opportunities our sector has to offer.
Zeehavendagen Amsterdam
As part of Amsterdam’s “Zeehavendagen Amsterdam”, the port organises a day with a range of activities and visits for students to showcase opportunities for working in the port environment.
The students were all challenged with one question during the day: 'The ideal port of the future'. The students from different courses were in competition with each other to develop the best idea.
To gain inspiration, the port had organised various company visits, one of which was to Commodity Centre. Our Amsterdam colleagues had the pleasure of welcoming 72 students to our terminal and showing them around the facility. The day was rounded off with a presentation from OFI.
Welcoming Tomorrow’s Talent in Antwerp
We had the pleasure of welcoming three graduates completing their International Entrepreneurship programme while working with one of our customers, Sopex.
Ellen Vermeulen (Logistiek Coordinator), Mengyi Dai (Trade Coordinator) and Kendehafti Solomon (from Sopex Ethiopia) visited the warehouse where they met with Wim Jacobs and Sabine Callens who shared an insightful presentation on our operation and its vital role in the global supply chain of coffee and cocoa.
They then had the opportunity to meet the logistics team they regularly correspond with via email, finally putting faces to names. A tour of the warehouse showed them the operations close-up, including a stop by the weighbridge to observe the reweighing of incoming and outgoing loads. It was a hands-on learning experience and a chance to witness the impressive coordination behind every shipment.
Inspiring the Next Generation
In Antwerp, we opened the doors to a group of students from Antwerp's Ursullinen Mechelen school, eager to learn about the coffee trade and discover what goes on behind the scenes in commodity logistics.
The visit began with a lively presentation, where the students were invited to see, touch and smell raw coffee beans from around the world. They then toured the warehouse where they watched wide-eyed as heavy jute bags of beans were being unloaded by hand from containers. They also saw big bags being filled from the silo platform and then weighed on the scales - a vivid introduction to the scale and complexity of global coffee trade.
