A new report has confirmed that those logistics companies which invested in staff training have been able to survive the recession in better shape than those which reduced or scrapped the policy. Although profitability in the sector is generally down, companies which had continued to train suffered less.
These findings are contained in a new report, The Logistics Sector Skills Assessment, from the industry’s Sector Skills Council Skills for Logistics. The report brings together fieldwork and other research conducted over the last 18 months. Dr Ross Moloney, head of intelligence at Skills for Logistics, says: “The latest report confirms the reality that training staff produces bottom line benefits.
“Traditionally, tough times have always provoked the temptation to haul back on training programmes. However, once again this is revealed as a false economy with clear evidence that those employers which continued training receive a positive return on their investment in the form of sustained profits.”
Other key findings from the latest survey, covering 2009, revealed that:-
- 2.3 million people work in logistics – 8% of the total national workforce. By 2017 an additional 843,600 will be required by the sector.
- 73% of the workforce are male and 41% are over the age of 45.
- Managers constitute 21% of the workforce
- Only 41% of companies with fewer than ten employees provide training while four in five of those with more than 200 employees do so.
- Most logistics training is carried out locally.
The largest training challenge facing the sector at present is the need to complete Driver CPC training for over 300,000 HGV drivers and 200,000 van drivers over the next five years.
The full UK and nation reports contain comprehensive data and commentary and can be found at www.skillsforlogistics.org/en/index/reports/ssa/
