Britain’s transport and distribution industry needs intelligent, highly motivated young people who are keen to carve out a career for themselves as transport and distribution specialists. Apprenticeships offer people real choices in jobs with training.
Skills for Logistics has developed a range of Logistics Apprenticeships offering the opportunity to gain valuable skills in one of four specialisms all of which lead towards gaining a Level 2 public qualification:
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traffic specialists
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warehouse specialists
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professional drivers
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postal operatives
In many other sectors, such as engineering and construction, apprenticeships have traditionally provided the ideal method for bringing young people into the industry. They less widely used in logistics, with employers providing less than 2% of the completed apprenticeships in the UK, despite employing 8% of the workforce.
The National Apprenticeship Service was established in April 2009 to increase the number and range of employers offering apprenticeships, with the aim of providing the opportunity for one in five young people to take up an apprenticeship place.
To help achieve this two new delivery models are being tested, Apprenticeship Training Associations (ATAs) and Group Training Associations (GTAs). The apprentices are employed by the Training Association and "hired out" as a flexible workforce to other employers, known as "host companies", for the work-based element of their apprenticeship. Host companies pay the Training Association a fee for the hire of the apprentice, which comprises their salary plus a service charge to cover the management costs of employing and supporting the apprentice. The Training Agency takes on most of the administration, dealing with the payroll, support and supervision of the apprentice and is their legal employer.
A benefit for host companies is that they can take a flexible, demand-led approach to quality apprenticeships with the ultimate aim of employing the apprentices directly.
The government awarded funding to 12 organisations to create and operate the new agencies. One of these is the newly created partnership Logistics Apprenticeship Training Academy (LATA), between two established West Midlands-based training providers – JHP Training and Targeted Training Projects (TTP).
In the West Midlands the logistics industry employs 10% (260,000) of the regional workforce and generates more than 12,000 employment opportunities a year. Logistics companies of all sizes choose the West Midlands as an area to invest and locate, contributing £5.7 billion towards the region’s economy.
Following the successful launch of LATA last November over 50 local companies have already benefited from becoming host companies including AF Blakemore, Tuffnells, WP Metal, CFT Services, Handicare, and DY Pallets, with more than 100 apprentices taking part. In all cases these are new apprenticeship opportunities and are not a replacement for directly employing an apprentice.
Host companies have commented favourably on their experience of utilising apprentices from LATA, with a spokesman from one saying: "Hiring apprentices through LATA has provided us with a financially viable way to bring in young motivated staff to expand our business but without the initial risk of having to directly employ new staff"
James Billingham, managing director of TTP, adds: "A number of companies we work with are committed to backing young, local people and have started to see their order book increase. However, they do not want to commit to recruiting staff in the current climate. LATA provides a solution, by negating this risk and supplying host companies with well trained and motivated young people with the skills, licences and competencies that they want, when they want them."
This dynamic approach to tailored training and recruitment of apprentices has significant benefits to companies in terms of meeting operational peak labour requirements and supporting local apprentices in a variety of logistics job roles at competitive rates. The apprentices benefit from having the opportunity to complete their training and widen their skills base by potentially having the experience of working with several organisations.
Richard Brewer, West Midlands regional manger for Skills for Logistics, added: "This is a major initiative in the drive to upskill the logistics workforce. We know from our research investment in training has a direct impact on productivity. This new delivery model is a great way of enabling SMEs to improve their productivity while offering young people an opportunity to enter the logistics industry and follow robust programmes to enable them to develop their skills and move up The Professional Development Stairway."
