25th July 2024
The 2nd meeting of the Haulage and Logistics Workforce Development Partnership saw a strong presence from the training providers and other stakeholders within the region. The focus of the meeting was on identifying employer skills needs in more detail and matching those to programmes being run by the training providers to identify gaps in the provision. Our Employer Champion, Richard Perriman from Scan Global Logistics spoke about the industry landscape and the value employers placed on practical skills and abilities, work ethic and potential for growth within the recruitment process.
The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s, Chris Markey discussed the importance of logistics to the economy, how this intersects with all industry sectors and the strong emphasis the industry places on professional development, particularly in compliance and the science of logistics with AI and machine learning (increasingly being used to predict product demand and streamline distribution). Activate Learning and Windsor Forest College Groups shared details of their current curriculums with input from OxLEP on their Skills Bootcamps provision.
A group discussion with employers was led by Cat Marin and Ben Jokiel from Activate Learning to understand the specific skills needs and recruitment challenges in the sector, and what this Partnership can do to help meet these. This included, informing and inspiring people to work in the sector, the mapping of industry competencies with new and existing skills provisions, the integration of logistics-specific knowledge into regular courses and development of multi-trade programmes to meet industry needs. The Partnership will continue working with the Chartered Institute and Generation Logistics on promotional activity in local schools and colleges. A New Year event to be held at Reading college will bring teachers, student, and employer voices together to share the skills and recruitment needs of the sector, the training provision, breadth of opportunities and progression pathways in the industry. The date of our next meeting will be scheduled for the Autumn and will be finalised shortly.
We would welcome additional employers to join Partnership to help shape the future workforce and talent pipeline in the region.
21st March 2024
The first meeting of this Workforce Development Partnership took place on March 21st at DoubleTree by Hilton in Newbury. A range of employers and training providers met to find out more about the Local Skills Improvement Plans for Berkshire and Oxfordshire. We were lucky enough to have input from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s Bethany Windsor who joined us remotely to update everyone on their work in promoting the breadth of careers in the sector. The Generation Logistics programme aims to bring employers and training providers together and to get young people thinking about careers in the sector. This is helped by an ambassador programme, which sees current and recently retired staff visit schools and colleges to promote the sector.
Local skills needs were presented by our Employer Champion for the sector, Richard Perriman, from Scan Global Logistics. He also emphasised the importance of positive ambassadors for the sector promoting career opportunities, as well as the need to make sure teachers were aware of the latest developments in the sector. He emphasised that good careers can be built in the sector and that there are great progression opportunities within it. People can rise high in the sector with the right work ethic and the determination and resilience to succeed. These kinds of ‘employability’ skills are vital, as are good basic IT skills. There were also wider discussions around attracting more level 1 learners into the sector and the opportunities they would then have to progress. As well as growing apprenticeship numbers and looking at a local promotional event, with employer, educator, and student presence, to better promote opportunities.
Key actions to take forward included: The sharing of resources from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) with Careers Organisations for use with schools and colleges; working with Generation Logistics to get more sector ambassadors in front of students; working on a pilot programme of work placements with key employers and providers; a joint LSIP/CILT event to be run in the Autumn to bring employer, provider and learner voices together.
Key actions to take forward included: The sharing of resources from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) with Careers Organisations for use with schools and colleges; working with Generation Logistics to get more sector ambassadors in front of students; working on a pilot programme of work placements with key employers and providers; a joint LSIP/CILT event to be run in the Autumn to bring employer, provider and learner voices together.