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BIFA supports National Careers Week

Posted on by David Priestman

The British International Freight Association (BIFA) is supporting this week’s National Careers Week 2022 with a series of events aimed at demonstrating its commitment to promoting careers in logistics.

National Careers Week 2022 runs from 7th to 12 March and is a celebration of careers guidance and free resources in education across the UK.

The aim is to provide a focus for careers guidance activity at an important stage in the academic calendar to help support young people leaving education.

With youth unemployment remaining high and BIFA members concerned about the shortage of certain industry skills, there has never been a bigger need for careers guidance to be promoted.

Throughout the week, BIFA will undertake a number of events, supported by a range of resources on its social media pages to encourage members to expand their own learning; showcasing the range of training courses available from BIFA’s Training team.

For BIFA, the week will commence with an online seminar entitled ’10 Reasons To Consider A Career In Logistics’ at 13.00 GMT/14.00 CET on 7th March.

In it, BIFA executive director, Carl Hobbis, who is responsible for all elements of BIFA’s Freight and Customs training, will be joined by Kyle Lawrence, chair of the London East region of BIFA’s Young Forwarder Network (YFN) – a networking group set-up for young people or those new to the industry – and finalist in 2018 for Apprentice of the Year in the BIFA Freight Service awards.

In this interactive session, using Kahoot, Carl will provide guidance to those considering a career in logistics, whilst Kyle will deliver the perspective of young people within the YFN about what they think of the industry since joining it.

Thursday 10th March at 15.30 GMT/16.30 CET will see BIFA’s latest Young Forwarder Network event taking place with guest speaker Sam Greenhalgh, vice president of sales Europe at Zencargo and host of industry podcast ‘What’s In The Box?’.

Sam’s career in the shipping industry started at the age of 16, when he joined a leading service provider on an apprenticeship scheme. Since then, he’s been on an incredible journey working in various roles. He is passionate about the freight and logistics business, and his podcast brings together industry leaders to discuss the hot topics and trends in logistics.

BIFA hopes that Sam’s story will inspire and empower young forwarders to consider their next steps in the industry.

The trade association’s events will culminate with a free one-hour online event on Friday 11th March at 14.:00 GMT/15.00 CET during which James Billingham, a director of the Skills Office Network, will provide a comprehensive overview of how BIFA members can upskill their existing workforce by using apprenticeships and will show how they can help to resolve their ongoing skills shortages.

Billingham has over 20 years of experience in logistics skills and training. He worked closely with BIFA, and a group of freight forwarding companies, during the development of the International Freight Forwarding Specialist apprenticeship, and advises employers and training providers on all matters concerning apprenticeships.

Hobbis says: “National Careers Week 2022 is the perfect platform to advise and inspire the next generation as they enter the world of work. The week encourages education providers to bring together students, local employers and advisers through careers events and activities.”

In addition to inspiring school/college leavers, BIFA believes that this week will also be a great opportunity for those already in logistics to focus on the next step in their careers.

“We are urging BIFA Members to sign up, join up and promote the logistics industry as a career of choice within their local communities.

“In essence every week is National Careers Week for BIFA, and we remain committed to promoting logistics as an industry of choice for the next generation, plus supporting our members in achieving their own career ambitions.”

 

Prologis helps trainees find logistics jobs

Posted on by David Priestman

A Northamptonshire-based training facility is helping to upskill the next generation of logistics workers. The Hub, based at Prologis RFI DIRFT in Daventry, is a purpose-built facility, which is home to Prologis UK’s Warehousing and Logistics Training Programme (PWLTP).

After launching in 2021, the PWLTP is helping young and unemployed people in the Northamptonshire and wider SEMLEP area gain the skills, knowledge and competencies to find a job and build a career in logistics. In 2021, 96 local people completed the training programme and secured employment with local logistics employers, delivering a social value of £1.54m.

Among those taking advantage of the training programme, backed by Prologis UK and delivered by Goodwill Solutions, is Rachel Priest, a 28-year-old from Northampton. Rachel is using the programme to sharpen her CV and practise her interview skills, as well as gain important workplace qualifications, such as a forklift truck driving licence. She is supported by Right Resolution CIC, an organisation which supports young people in Northamptonshire and Peterborough leaving care.

Speaking about the PWLTP, Rachel said: “I’ve always been a hands-on person and the range of jobs available in logistics really appeals to me. The courses so far have been great and I’ve really found it useful talking about my CV and my skills. It’s given me a lot more confidence and I feel much more comfortable about applying for jobs now. Achieving my forklift licence is very exciting too!”

After progressing though the programme, where courses cover resilience and employability skills including workplace relationships, inner drive, CV writing and self-presentation at interviews, attendees are put in contact with local logistics businesses that are currently recruiting skilled workers. Many of these businesses are long-term customers at nearby Prologis Parks, allowing course participants to find sustainable employment, close to where they live.

Robin Woodbridge (pictured left, alongside Rachel Priest centre, and Prologis UK’s Sally Duggleby right), head of capital deployment at Prologis UK, said: “Seeing people progress through the courses and find employment is exactly why we set up the PWLTP. Businesses on our Prologis Parks need access to an employment pool of skilled workers and we know there’s an appetite in the region for jobs which offer security and progression. The Programme has had a very strong start and we’re looking forward to helping many more people build a career in the fast-paced world of logistics.”

As a sector, logistics offers a broad range of job opportunities; from warehouse and forklift truck operatives, through to customer service advisors, automation engineers and data analysts. Across the UK, the sector supports 2.6 million jobs and is actively recruiting. During the pandemic, logistics employees were given key worker status, due to the importance of their roles and recent research conducted by Prologis UK shows that 1 in 2 people believe that logistics workers are perceived more positively now than before the pandemic.

Opinion: pharma sector needs logistics skills

Posted on by David Priestman

The pharmaceutical retail, wholesale and distribution sector is ‘in play’, as they say on the markets, writes Leigh Anderson (pictured), Managing Director at Bis Henderson Recruitment. The group around Lloyds Pharmacy (retail) and AAH Pharmaceuticals (wholesale) has been acquired by Aurelius; Walden has bought Movianto, joining Eurotranspharma and Ciblex and so bolstering its claim to be ‘the European leader in transport and logistics for pharma’; and takeover rumours swirl around Walgreen-owned Boots/Alliance, along with other companies in the UK and Europe.

In parallel with this market activity, we are seeing a marked upswing in recruitment for senior and middle-ranking logistics and supply chain posts in the sector. And it’s hardly surprising, as wider skill sets from pertinent related sectors will be needed.

Changes in ownership invariably trigger reviews of business strategies and consequent reassessment of whether the right skills and expertise are in place to achieve the new goals. But this comes on top of more fundamental changes that have been triggered or accelerated by the Covid pandemic.

Restructuring, and pharmacy involvement in vaccine rollouts, has prompted significant and ongoing investment in new distribution centres, final mile delivery and automation – including robotic dispensing solutions. In addition, the pandemic has revealed critical dependencies, especially for packaging and drug delivery supplies, which has pushed supply chain resilience higher up on corporate agendas.

More fundamentally, the pandemic has accelerated the digitalisation of medicine, including pharmacology. Pressure on general practice has been met by ramping up the NHS Direct platform, and by a boom in private sector on-line medicine, through firms such as Babylon, PushDoctor and Lloyds Pharmacy Clinical Homecare. And this is extending to the on-line ordering of drugs and therapies, particularly repeat prescriptions, for delivery Direct-to-Patient.

The processes are analogous to, but with significant differences from, consumer eCommerce. Direct-to-Patient promises to be more convenient, to reduce waste, to encourage better course adherence by patients, as well as helping to control the problem of parallel imports. Better visibility of demand can be fed into predictive analytics for further improvement. But exactly what this might mean for the role of wholesalers is still in question.

The vaccine development and roll-out process has also highlighted the importance of accurate logistics to clinical trials, where any supply failure risks negating months or years of development work and delaying the deployment of valuable therapies.

Healthcare is a data-rich environment and there is now a real emphasis on using sophisticated data analytics, to quote Walden, “to optimise logistics processes and streamline flows both within health entities (pharmacies, hospitals), and also directly to patients”. Digitalisation is rapidly being applied to a host of regulatory requirements, from real-time traceability to quality control, market authorisation, pharmaceutical release, Customs brokerage, and more.

Forward-looking companies are also beginning to plan for an era of individually tailored therapies, especially around cell and gene therapies. So-called ‘vein to vein’ supply chains will require needle-sharp logistics to move blood or tissue samples from the patient to the laboratory as well as delivering the resultant therapy back to the patient – all under critical time pressure. The trend, already evident, is forever wider product ranges, in smaller volumes and with high demand volatility, with very short shelf lives, requiring differing temperature regimes, dealt with in part by increasing use of postponement strategies. And, needless to say, all this has to be conducted with the highest ethical and customer-centric focus.

So what are the skills companies are looking for to meet this complex agenda? Clearly, experience of significant change management will be valuable. There are specific technical skills in demand also – in robotics and automation, in the application of big data analytics to supply chain and distribution activities, and in building effective direct to user distribution channels taking appropriate learnings from consumer eCommerce. Experience in time-critical sectors (short life products and stringent delivery time requirements), and in reducing fulfilment times is in demand, as is experience in using procurement and supplier relations processes to improve supply chain resilience.

Managers at all levels will also need an understanding of how heavily regulated industries have to operate – especially as some innovations in, for example, Direct-to-Patient supply may, in some countries, require legal or regulatory change.

Partly because of this, there has been an unspoken assumption in parts of the sector that senior staff really need a medical, pharmacological or life science background. But it is now appreciated that this isn’t necessarily the case, and that there are lessons to be learned and knowledge to be transferred from other sectors – consumer eCommerce, temperature-controlled food distribution chains, even the data analytics used in high volume, but high variance, industries such as fashion.

Bis Henderson has extensive experience of helping managers with these high value skills transition into different industrial and commercial sectors, enhancing their careers and facilitating knowledge transfer to new employers. As a natural port of call for logistics and supply chain professionals seeking to develop, we have access to a deep pool of the skills and talent that the pharmaceutical distribution sector will need to meet the coming challenges.

RARUK expands UR training team

Posted on by David Priestman

The quality resources RARUK Automation (UK) Limited provides its customers has been central to its promotion from gold to platinum status Universal Robots (UR) distributor. Dedicated UR training is a key element. The company opened the UK’s first UR Authorised Training Centre at its headquarters in Bedfordshire just two years ago and despite COVID-19 disruption, the facility has gone from strength to strength.

To support demand, RARUK Automation has further expanded its training team. Automation technician Harry Brunker, who holds a first-class honours degree in mechanical engineering with professional development from Brunel University, has joined the line-up of certified UR trainers. Brunker and his fellow trainer Paul Keeling provide tuition in collaborative robot programming, empowering UK customers to get the very best return from their UR investment.

The UR Authorised Training Centre Network, of which RARUK Automation is part, allows a variety of modules to be delivered in a local, classroom environment or online. They cover core to advanced cobot programming, including cobot scripting, preventative maintenance, system troubleshooting and parts replacement. Beyond that, the company has the benefit of showroom and laboratory facilities to help customers explore and prove cobot applications.

Transaid announces Mozambique expansion

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Transaid used the occasion of its recent annual showcase in London to announce the further expansion of its professional driver training programme into Mozambique – less than a year after securing the funding to launch a similar project in Ghana.

Chief Executive Caroline Barber shared the news with a group of around 100 corporate members and supporters gathered at law firm Ashurst LLP on Tuesday, highlighting how the international development organisation’s track record for delivering life-saving work means it is now regularly approached to expand its activities into new countries.

Opening the event, she said: “We have already built many sustainable and impactful partnerships around our road safety work, but sadly there remains considerable need for similar programmes in many more sub-Saharan countries.

“The Mozambique project is expected to kick-off later this month, with funding from the German government, and we are confident that by sharing our knowledge and expertise, we can improve training standards and make the roads safer for everyone.”

Recognising Transaid’s resilience during the pandemic, she added: “I am very proud that during these challenging times we have managed to carry on delivering impactful work and incorporated a successful COVID-19 response into many of our programmes. This has only been possible thanks to our strong partnerships, incredible teams and partners in Africa, and the remarkable support from the transport industry and those that fund our work.”

The showcase also provided an opportunity to share updates on many of Transaid’s 12 live programmes which currently span nine countries. This includes a recent project to help mobilise Africa’s young women into the labour force, by first understanding the challenges they face when accessing public transport in outlying neighbourhoods.

Transaid patron Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal also addressed the audience in a video message, in which she thanked the industry for its tireless support.

The event concluded with the presentation of the Victor Simfukwe Awards, in memory of the former Transaid team member who passed away in 2019 following a road traffic accident in Zambia. Now in their second year, the awards recognise an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to further the organisation’s work in the previous 12 months.

Transaid Project Officer Shadi Ambrosini was Highly Commended for his outstanding efforts across multiple projects, whilst the overall award was won by Guy Heywood, Director Marketing & Sales Europe at Hankook, for his outstanding fundraising achievements. Within the last year alone this has included running the London Marathon and cycling 503km across Malawi – both virtually.

Speaking after the awards, Heywood said: “There were definitely tough times during these challenges, but I completed each one with a smile on my face as I crossed the finishing line – both from knowing it was over, but also from the reassurance that Transaid will use the money to improve peoples’ lives. I am truly humbled to be associated with Victor; his dedication to saving and enriching lives was outstanding and what always impressed me was his positive and smiling attitude.”

PD Ports offers logistics students unique experience

Posted on by David Priestman

PD Ports, the largest private employer in the Tees Valley, has offered six Stockton Riverside College students the unique opportunity to shadow its LGV drivers in a bid to showcase careers in the logistics sector in a further step towards combating driver shortages.

The bespoke programme, which has been developed by Stockton Riverside College in collaboration with the Road Haulage Association (RHA), PD Ports and fellow logistics providers Prestons of Potto, will see students travel in an artic LGV alongside experienced drivers to gain an exclusive insight into life on the road.

With news of driver shortages and supply chain issues sweeping the UK, PD Ports Chief Commercial Officer, Geoff Lippitt, explained how programmes such as this are vital to bridging skills gaps and making careers in transport attractive and attainable for future employees.

“At PD Ports, we have long foreseen the potential issues around driver shortages as we recognised that drivers typically fell into an ageing demographic, leaving behind a huge skills gap,” said Lippitt.

“As the largest private employer in the region, and global leaders in the logistics sector, we know how important collaboration is when tackling skills shortages. This programme demonstrates how, by working together, we can effectively challenge perceptions and offer invaluable insights into potential career paths.

“We’re delighted to be able to offer this unique experience within PD Ports and remain committed to actively promoting careers in logistics as an attractive prospect for the next generation.”

Over the course of two days with their respective mentors, students gained an understanding of how to work with EU regulations, conduct pre-vehicle checks, load securing and handle the paperwork associated with being a driver all whilst travelling around the UK.

Following their placements, and upon successfully completing the course, which enables students to acquire their licences and a level 2 logistics qualification, students are also guaranteed an interview with PD Ports for full-time employment, further enabling them to kick start their careers.

Gavin Straine-Francis, 42, was one of the lucky six to spend time on the road with PD Ports, and explained how the experience has left him looking forward to getting started. A former support worker, he said: “My dad was a truck driver and he suggested getting my licence a couple of years back. I think that planted a seed and now here I am.”

Straine-Francis found spending a couple of days working alongside PD Ports’ drivers offered an insight like no other. He added: “It was really good. The early start came as a bit of a shock but the drivers were all brilliant and were happy to answer your questions and share the benefit of their experience.”

Phil Dorn (pictured,with the students), Logistics Team Leader at Stockton Riverside College, explained how the programme has long been in the planning. He said, “Although driver shortages are a ‘hot topic’ at this moment in time, we’ve been working with multiple local employers, stakeholders and the RHA for some time to raise awareness about the need to train the next generation of drivers.

“We passionately believe this type of collaboration is the way forward to deal with the training needs of the logistics industry in the region from the perspective of both potential employees and employers.”

DHL’s Driving Ambition aims to help solve shortage

Posted on by David Priestman

DHL Supply Chain has announced Driving Ambition, a new training programme which aims to tackle the national driver shortage in the UK with a long-term solution by providing fully funded training for applicants to qualify as LGV drivers.

The Driving Ambition programme removes a key barrier to a career in logistics by providing company-funded driver training, opening a door to an industry that has proved itself essential during the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the main aims of the programme is to encourage a wider pool of diverse candidates to consider a driving career.

Driving Ambition offers candidates free driver training worth up to £3,000 to obtain either a Category C licence (Class 2) to drive rigid trucks, or licences C and E (Class 1) to drive artics.

Ian Clough, MD Transport at DHL Supply Chain UK, said: “The supply chain industry is facing a huge shortage of drivers. One of the most important steps we can take to solve this for the long-term starts at grass roots by encouraging and enabling people to pursue a career in logistics. By investing in someone’s future, and offering them the opportunity to be trained and ultimately become a qualified LGV driver, we’re hoping to attract as broad an audience as possible.

“New recruits will be welcomed into the wonderfully diverse DHL family and we’re very much encouraging applications from people of all ages and backgrounds, as well as those underrepresented in the industry, such as women and the ex-military.”

Roads Minister Baroness Vere added: “This is a fantastic initiative and I fully support DHL as they encourage UK workers to kick-start a rewarding and lucrative career in our vitally important road haulage industry. We will continue to do all we can to help industry leaders boost driver recruitment numbers, improve job opportunities right across the country, and address the problems caused by this global issue.”

Recognising the need to create a long-term flow of driver candidates, Marks & Spencer has backed the programme and is inviting colleagues and partners to take part in the opportunity to retrain.

The programme is open to anyone looking to become an LGV driver, or those wanting to upskill from a Class 2 licence to a Class 1 and step into one of DHL’s 1,000 training vacancies. Driver roles will be available across the UK, with dedicated transport training centres in the South East, Avonmouth, Crick, Worksop and Bellshill.

As the global logistics leader, DHL is committed to offering rewarding, flexible, long-term career opportunities for the widest possible range of people. The programme is a fantastic opportunity for veterans, school leavers and career changers looking for their next challenge.

Robert Boateng, 59, from London, has recently completed Driving Ambition and is now a qualified LGV driver: “I used to drive vans but I wanted to have a specialist qualification and develop a career. The programme is really good – you get lots of support, so I’d recommend it to anyone else thinking about a career change.”

The programme has been trialled with internal candidates and to date 250 people have completed the training programme. All new employees will be invited to join DHL’s pension scheme, along with accessing a range of exclusive wellbeing benefits such as mortgage advice, online tutoring for kids and a free online GP service, plus retail and supermarket discounts of up to 10%.

As part of its aspiration to achieve zero-emissions logistics by 2050, the company is investing in the latest low emissions trucks and recently opened its industry-leading Transport Development Centre at Crick to teach safe, environmentally responsible driving techniques.

Trelleborg is top employer in Czech region

Posted on by David Priestman

Trelleborg Wheel Systems was announced as the winner of the Sodexo Employer of the Region 2021 Competition for the Zlín region in the Czech Republic, an award which recognises outstanding companies for their workplace environment.

Radek Cmunt, HR Director at Trelleborg Wheel Systems in the Czech Republic, says: “We are pleased to be recognised as a Top Employer in the Zlín region, where we have two of our three Czech production facilities. At Trelleborg Wheel Systems our motto is ‘People First’. We are pleased that even in these difficult times we managed to prove that our motto is not simply buzzwords, but is something we take pride in. Our priority is taking care of our employees, so they can take care of the satisfaction of our customers, no matter what.”

Given to the top employers in the Czech Republic since 2003, the Sodexo Employer of the Region award recognises the best practices of companies in motivating, rewarding and developing employees, and ultimately achieving a company’s financial goals.

During evaluation of companies, focus was on 14 KPIs, including amount of training and personnel development costs, rate of promotions and absences, employee benefits and turnover. The survey used the Saratoga methodology with assessment by PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Czech Republic.

Trelleborg Wheel Systems operates three tyre plants in the Czech Republic, in Prague, Zlín and Otrokovice, which underwent a recent expansion.

Logistics – it’s a people thing

Posted on by David Priestman

Worker quality and numbers is fast becoming one of the trickiest aspects of finding and properly utilising people in the DC, says Smitha Raphael, Chief Product & Delivery Officer for WMS technology innovator SnapFulfil.

Amazon has raised the bar in the race for workers by increasing its average starting wage in the US to $18 per hour (potentially rising to $22.50) – plus it also plans to hire more than 125,000 warehouse and transportation workers in the US alone for 350 new logistics facilities opened this year and to help the rollout of one-day delivery for Amazon Prime loyalty club members.

Retailers generally are scrambling to hire hourly workers in this stretched-to-breaking-point labour market and have even been offering benefits and joining bonuses to attract them, with Walmart also planning to hire 20,000 workers at its supply chain division ahead of the manic Q4 season.

The UK & Europe is already following suit, but baby boomers, which have traditionally made up most of the DC workforce, are rapidly approaching retirement age and younger generations are less willing and available to replace these roles in the warehousing industry.

Raphael explains: “The current global labour issue has also highlighted the stark differences between manually operated DCs and those that have integrated automated process solutions and have been able to keep up with rapidly growing e-commerce and quick delivery demands.

“At SnapFulfil we are working with customers to help them meet this labour crisis head on – by way of real time data and warehouse planning – to optimise both space and resource, in order that business as usual can be maintained in these exceptional circumstances.”

When labour is at a premium and self-isolation is a reality, coupled with a rapid change in orders, then having the very latest data to boost the effectiveness of the available workforce, their picking and packing performance, plus available space – underpinned by highly efficient receiving and putaway activity – is vital.

What’s more, it allows for remedial measures to be quickly and inexpensively enacted, because highly configurable WMS software like SnapFulfil means every aspect of the e-commerce fulfilment process can be automated, streamlined and made intuitive for floor staff and management.

Raphael adds: “SnapFulfil customers typically benefit from efficiency and productivity improvements of up to 30%, which basically translates into the ability to do more for less with the same resources – something we are all craving during these hugely uncertain times.”

BIFA seeks to inspire next generation

Posted on by David Priestman

The British International Freight Association (BIFA), the trade association that represents the UK’s freight forwarding and logistics sector is launching a campaign to encourage its members to work with schools to promote careers in logistics, forwarding and the supply chain, and encourage students to consider them.

With schools returning for a new academic year, BIFA is equipping its members with materials to help them promote careers within the freight and logistics sector to students.

During September, BIFA members will be receiving copies of literature (pictured below) that is full of ideas of how to promote their business and the industry as a career option to the next generation.

This promotional material is the first part of a wider industry inspiration programme that will help members to highlight to students the available routes when making career choices, identify the core values and behaviours required when applying for jobs, and provide advice that may encourage young people to broaden their horizons.

Carl Hobbis, executive director and training development manager, says: “Industry promotion is one of BIFA’s key roles and part of that is encouraging logistics as a career path. We see career guidance via school events as being key to that.”

Whilst the trade association has its own plans to have more proactive engagement with schools, it hopes that the literature that is being distributed will inspire members around the country to do something locally.

BIFA believes that schools need employer engagement and apart from the blue-chip organisations, many members generally don’t know where to start or who to approach, so it is encouraging those members to reverse this and reach out to schools in their vicinity.

Hobbis adds: “Since the Brexit vote and the onset of the Covid pandemic, global supply chains have been in the news more than ever, so what a great time to encourage someone to consider a career in international freight sector that manages those supply chains.

“Apprenticeships are certainly something that a lot of students are considering, rather than taking on the debt associated with a degree, and we are reminding members that there is a specific apprenticeship standard for International Freight Forwarding, that BIFA was instrumental in establishing.

“Many of our members are doing some fantastic things already, but we, as a trade association need to do more. This literature is just the start and provides a framework to support members, and help them to attract the next generation to the freight forwarding and logistics industry.”

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