Closing the skills gap in the logistics sector

The Generation Logistics campaign aims to challenge perceptions and raise awareness of the opportunities that are available in the logistics sector. Programme director Bethany Windsor shares how the campaign is encouraging future talent into the sector.

What do you get when you combine a declining workforce with a lack of awareness of the many job prospects that a career in logistics can offer young people? A sector skills gap. And one that must be resolved. Fast.

In order to solve a problem, it’s important to understand the cause of it. Which is why, at Generation Logistics, we conducted our own independent research surveying the general public on their perceptions of the logistics sector and its career prospects.

Our findings revealed that over 90 per cent of people surveyed would not consider a career in logistics, and through these findings, Generation Logistics was formed.

The Generation Logistics campaign launched in 2022, is a sector-backed campaign that was created in collaboration with Logistics UK and CILT(UK). Its mission is to challenge perceptions and raise awareness of the opportunities that are available to people within the logistics sector. This mission has received incredible support and sponsorship from many companies including CEVA Logistics, ASDA and DHL, who all acknowledge its need within the sector.

During the campaign’s first year alone, we managed to improve positive sentiment around the logistics sector by 140 per cent and increase awareness of the sector by 11 per cent. This was achieved via a multichannel approach that targeted young people, career switchers and the general public, as we worked to raise widespread awareness of the many career paths that the logistics sector can offer.

Now into its second year, the campaign sees us take a more granular approach as we aim to bring logistics careers to the forefront of young people’s minds at an earlier stage - starting in the classroom. By targeting teachers, career advisors and education professionals, as well as young people aged 13 - 24 years, we are working to improve upon these results even further as we continue with our mission of plugging the skills gap facing the sector.

Change must start in the classroom

To target the education sector, we wanted to provide teachers and advisors with digestible, easy-to-use and free resources.

That’s why we created The Generation Logistics Education Hub. Specifically aimed at education professionals, the intent is to provide a library of logistics related content that can be simply and easily integrated into lesson planning, fully aligned to KS3, KS4 and KS5 learning objectives.

All the content is free and downloadable, and tailored to explore foundational concepts in maths, geography and business studies via activities and challenges rooted in real-world logistics scenarios.

Within the Education Hub, teachers will also find the Generation Logistics Careers Booklet for them to download. The booklet provides education professionals with an overview of the Generation Logistics campaign as a whole, as well as a detailed outline of exactly what the modern logistics sector looks like and the career prospects that are available to young people today.

It also breaks down the key areas of logistics (‘job families’) and includes case studies from logisticians (both junior and senior) currently working in each and every area.

Generation Logistics Week

Now for the very first time, the campaign has developed even further and the inaugural Generation Logistics Week will launch on the 24th - 28th June 2024. The aim of this week is to encourage  the next generation of logistics talent and support educators from school and colleges.

Over the course of the week, a range of interactive content for both students and teachers will be shared via social channels and the Education Hub, all with the aim of raising awareness of the logistics sector and the career opportunities that it can provide to the future workforce.

The week itself will be packed full of activities for educators and students alike, including in-person and online events, vidcasts and case studies of employees telling their story. It will also feature a virtual careers fair for young people to learn more about the roles available within the sector.

The newest challenge facing the sector’s recruitment issue

As logistics moves even closer towards its net zero targets, the sector is calling out to not only meet the recruitment needs of its many existing roles, but also to meet the need of new skills that will be so crucial to the future of logistics. From mechanics who have experience working on electric or hydrogen vehicles, to those who are working on autonomous vehicles or last mile solutions, the future of the sector needs to be addressed, spanning all skill sets.

Many companies are already taking strides towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions across their operations. This may look like investment into lower carbon fuels and technologies, updated business practices that improve fleet operations or driver training to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

So many skill sets and jobs are needed to make Net Zero a reality across all logistics transport modes across all areas of the supply chain. Through Generation Logistics, we hope to encourage and welcome future talent into our brilliant sector.