Do You REALLY Care About Logistics?

I have lost count of the amount of logistics professionals I have met or interviewed over the years. You are all very different with diverse backgrounds, personalities and experiences. However, one common thread that you all tend to have in common is a declaration of passion for your industry. A genuine love for logistics.

Another common theme in logistics, is a recognised need for more talent. At every conference I have attended recently, the subject of talent shortage crops up, with logistics leaders asking the question of what can we do to improve the pipeline of professionals coming into our sector.

My question is this:

 If you do love logistics, and if you recognise that there is a shortage of people coming into the industry, what are you doing about it??

I believe the biggest threat to our industry, and indeed to the progression of most things, is lethargy. Logistics is in dire need of a continued, increased and sustained injection of talent. To do this we need to do two things:

·        Raise the profile of the logistics sector so people are aware of its existence and the opportunities within it.

·        Educate and help the professionals of tomorrow, giving them a clear path to follow in terms of a career in logistics, and facilitate this through providing them with the skills they will need to successfully get on the first rung of the career ladder.

We at JPS work with a fantastic scheme called Think Logistics, part of the bigger Career Ready charity, which has been created as a solution to the problems listed above.                                     

The creator of Think Logistics, Steve Granite – CEO of Abbey Logistics spoke to me about how the scheme came into existence.

“In 1995 I joined Abbey Logistics as an apprentice. I was given the opportunity when Managers of Abbey came to my school and looked to award apprenticeships to a couple of students. I was lucky enough to be one of them. Fast forward 17 years, my career had progressed significantly and as Managing Director of Abbey, I wanted to give something back and afford the same opportunity to other local students. When I went into the school to start the ball rolling, I was disappointed but not surprised to see no hands go up when I asked the students what they knew about Logistics, and how many wanted to work in the sector. I did a presentation to them to inform them about the industry, and asked the same question afterward. Every student in the room put their hand up. I then put in a structured process of assessing and interviewing the candidates, and went on to recruit 2 apprentices. The model worked and we realised how great it would be to offer this sort of programme not just for Abbey, but for all logistics businesses and to give the opportunity to students at a range of schools. Think Logistics was born!”

Think Logistics is a 2 year programme for 16 – 18 year olds. Students have to apply to get on to the course, are interviewed and selected if they pass a set criteria. Once successful, they are given a range of tools and experiences to help them become “career ready” and hopefully encourage them towards a career path in logistics. The programme includes:

·        Workshops

·        Site visits to a variety of logistics organisations

·        One to one mentoring from industry experts

·        A paid internship over the summer

The course is fantastic and a powerful answer to help solve the problem of talent shortage in logistics. However, the success of the scheme is very much dependent on one thing. YOU.

Without mentors, which is a key element of the scheme, it will not be able to continue as a viable entity.

Mentors meet with their students once a month, so in terms of a time investment, it really is very minimal, but the reward you get from it is off the charts in comparison.

As Steve Granite put it:

“There is nothing quite as rewarding as seeing these youngsters develop and grow as individuals due to the direct consequence of my input”

I can vouch for this. My student last year could not look me in the eye when we first met. One year on he has blossomed beyond recognition and is a confident, outgoing young man. So much so that even his Dad rang us to thank us for what we had done for his son. I can tell you that that feels amazing!

If mentoring isn’t for you, we are also keen to bring businesses on board to offer internships to our students. 

There are schemes running across the UK but I know that our Liverpool project is in serious need of mentors and internship offers.

I implore you all, if you do really care about your industry, and its longevity, please get involved. I promise you that you will be glad you did.

You can get more information by contacting me at [email protected] or the Career Ready, Think Logistics co-ordinator Steve Bridge at [email protected] or visit the career ready website at https://careerready.org.uk/programme/think-logistics?area=en