Career development is often overlooked by busy professionals in the trenches competing everyday. Often, it's tough to do much besides the everyday duties of family and work. That's where a professional society can be helpful. Here are four organizations that offer valuable and in-depth career development and educational materials for materials handling professionals.

Material Handling & Management Society (MHMS): The Materials Handling and Management Society is an independent professional society formed over 40 years ago. It serves materials handling professionals by disseminating information, exchanging ideas and providing educational experiences, including an internationally recognized certification program.

E-lessons and other learning materials developed by the Material Handling Institute and the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) can be accessed via the MHIA Web site ( www.mhia.org). Although the lessons stand on their own, as a group they are an excellent way to prepare for a national certification exam administered by the Material Handling Institute. Persons interested in certification should contact MHMS at 704-676-1183.

APICS – The Association for Operations Management: APICS is the global leader and premier source of the body of knowledge in operations management, including production, inventory, supply chain, materials management, purchasing and logistics. The association provides comprehensive education and training programs that significantly improve an individual's understanding of operations management practices, strategies and concepts. The APICS body of knowledge consists of education, research and standards and offers the most expert, current and relevant education to the growing operations management community.

APICS administers the internationally recognized certification programs, APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and APICS Certified in Integrated Resource Management (CIRM). There are also national workshops, online classes and local chapter certification review courses. To learn more, visit www.apics.org.

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP): In keeping with its educational objectives, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (previously known as the Council of Logistics Management or CLM) recognizes that a solid education in the supply chain profession is a broad, lifetime process which surpasses conventional classroom instruction.

The Council has 81 local chapters called Roundtables. In addition, Conferences and seminars are offered throughout the year, with its premiere annual event offering 150 educational sessions in October.

Other opportunities for learning include practical as well as strategic research offered in print as well as online at the Council's members-only link. For more information, visit www.cscmp.org.

Warehouse Education & Research Council (WERC): The Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) is a non-profit organization with over 3,800 individual members who work in the warehousing field. WERC's mission is to provide leadership in warehousing to advance the art and science of warehouse management and to enhance individual development. Focusing on work force development, WERC offers an Annual Conference, set for early May this year. For more information, contact Rita Coleman at 630-990-0001 or rcoleman@werc.org. For more information, visit www.werc.org.