Career family
Logistics, Transport & Supply Chain
Getting goods and people where they need to be, on time and at the right cost.
- Mainly Organising & Managing Detail
- Also Leading & Enterprising
- Also Making & Fixing
What the work involves
A closer look.
Work involves planning, tracking, solving problems quickly and coordinating many people. Roles range from warehouses and ports to procurement offices and airlines.
Typical roles
- Logistics coordinator
- Procurement officer
- Warehouse or inventory manager
- Fleet manager
- Customs and freight agent
- Aviation and airport operations
- Supply chain analyst
Entry routes in Nigeria
- Commercial subjects at SSCE help
- Degrees or diplomas in transport management, logistics, business or engineering
- Professional certifications in procurement and supply chain (for example CIPS)
- Entry-level operations roles with growth on the job
Requirements change. Always verify with the official body, JAMB or the institution.
Skills that matter
- Planning and scheduling
- Spreadsheets and tracking
- Calm problem-solving
- Negotiation
- Communication across teams
By life stage
Where you could start.
Secondary school
Often-linked SSCE stream: Commercial. Check with your school.
Undergraduate
Transport management, logistics and supply chain, business administration, maritime studies. Internships: logistics firms, warehouses, procurement teams.
Fresh graduate
Logistics assistant, inventory officer, procurement assistant, dispatch coordinator.
Young professional
People move in from sales, operations and administration, often taking a procurement or logistics certification.
Vocational routes, entrepreneurship, public service and further study are all valid paths. We don’t show salaries or employment rates without a dated, verified source.
Ask a practitioner
Questions to ask.
Use these in a 15–20 minute conversation with someone who works in this family.
- What does a normal week look like for you?
- What do you enjoy most about the work, and what is hardest?
- How did you get into this field? Were there other routes you could have taken?
- Which subjects, courses or qualifications really matter, and which matter less than people think?
- What skills do you use every day that school didn’t teach you?
- What do people misunderstand about your job?
- If you were starting today, what would you do first?
- Who else should I talk to?
Test it
Ways to check if it suits you
Informational conversation
Talk to one person who does the work, using the questions on this page.
Job description review
Read three real adverts for roles in this family and list the requirements that keep coming up.
Small project
Try a small piece of the work yourself, then reflect on whether you enjoyed it.
Short course
Take a free or low-cost introductory course to test your interest before committing.
Job shadow or workplace visit
Spend a few hours watching the work happen. CPI arranges visits for participants.
Mentor conversation
Discuss what you have found with a mentor or coach.
Official qualification research
Check requirements with the professional body, JAMB, the institution or the employer directly.
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ExploreWant to know if this fits you?
Take the self-assessment, then use your roadmap to test this direction.