28


Issue 6 2015 - Freight Business Journal


College meets skills shortage head-on


Employers and educators across the North-east are coming together to help tackle a skill shortage in the region’s logistics industry. Stockton Riverside College is joining forces with the region’s business leaders to inspire more young people to consider a future career in the industry. The College, in conjunction


with NETA Training Trust, Think Logistics and national charity, Career Ready, is launching a Logistics Academy to offer students an introduction to the sector. Career Ready links schools and


colleges with employers to open up the world of work to young people, offering a programme of business engagement that includes industry-focused masterclasses, mentoring and internship opportunities, running alongside their full time courses. Think Logistics is an employer led project, supported by the Edge


Foundation that focuses on raising young people’s awareness of the logistics industry. Among those to have backed


the College’s logistics programme is PD Ports’ logistics division, PD Portcentric Logistics. “Logistics is a key priority for


the Tees Valley, yet there seems to be a general lack of knowledge of what the sector fully entails,” said the college’s


director of


business development, Michelle Elliott. Employers warn that this is


contributing to the growing skills gap. Nationally the sector needs to recruit approximately 450,000 new workers in the next five years (with 1.2m needed between 2012 and 2020), yet the industry recruits almost the lowest number of school leavers, second only to agriculture. Director Jim French, who is also


national chairman of the Road Haulage Association, said: “I’ve


NETA’s chief executive Frank Ramsay, PD Portcentric Logistics director Jim French and Stockton Riverside College’s chief executive/ principal Phil Cook


talked to young people of school leaving age and there’s a definite lack of awareness of what the logistics industry is about. Similarly, there’s a lack of awareness amongst school teachers and parents.” He said: “Logistics is a key part


of all industries as it is about the movement and storage of products and people. Its purpose is to add value to a product or person by its location.”


///UK NORTH EAST


North-East on the crest of an export wave


There is “a phenomenal amount of business” in the North-East, says Gordon Seery, operations manager at Newcastle-based express


van, haulage and


forwarding company, OSE European. Small engineering firms making high tech items for the car industry, for oil and gas platforms, pharmaceuticals, printing and packaging - you name it, this area has it. “There’s definitely more


international business here than there was ten years ago,” he told FBJ. “The number of manufacturing outlets that export to Europe is bigger here than anyone realises.” The giant Nissan car plant


at Sunderland has spawned a local network of suppliers, and while much of their business is with the plant itself, many now also export to other car makers all over Europe. No


doubt the new train


assembly plant at Newton Aycliffe will have a similar effect when it is fully up and running. The old image of the region


as a centre for heavy industry and shipbuilding is completely out of date, says Gordon Seery, who points out that some of the high tech industrial estates that have sprung up are on the site of former shipyards.


OSE European was founded 13


years ago by managing director Peter Hunt with a scooter and a small van, catering initially for


local deliveries in the


region but expanding rapidly to encompass nationwide and international deliveries. It’s an unusual company in


that it operates its own fleet of eight vans of various types and sizes, plus five 5.5-tonners and one 18-tonner but it also retains a network of partner hauliers all over the UK and Europe - and it has a small air and sea freight forwarding activity. “We’ll deliver to anywhere in Europe, and around 50% of our work is with our own vehicles,” explains Gordon Seery. The company has an office


in Newcastle city centre, a depot


in Gateshead and a manned location in Veurne, Belgium, which acts as its


European hub. Loads that are to be taken further into Europe by subcontractors can be unloaded there for onward despatch. Where subcontractors are


used, OSE European is quite open with its customers. “We make it quite clear what we can and can’t do,” as Gordon Seery explains, It makes some use of freight exchanges, particularly Teleroute, but it has a list of tried and tested road haulage partners too. Much of the seafreight work


is handled by Kontainers, an online shipping marketplace that happens also to be based in Newcastle. “They’re very good – they give instant quotes and they do all the paperwork for you. A lot of our customers need a fast response to quotes.”


High life on the high seas


As a major employer, PD Ports is a keen member of the High Tide Foundation, which brings together industry and education across Teesside to give youngsters an insight into how businesses operate whilst developing skills and showcasing employment opportunities. The foundation’s aim “is


to improve learning and employment opportunities whilst raising aspirations for young people through unique work experience and industry- led skills programmes.” Using the River Tees as a


connecting theme, it brings together industry and education to increase awareness of port- related industries and the many career options available to local young people. One of its most recent exploits


was to invite youngsters to board a containership from their local port and sail to Lithuania, as part of the Foundation’s annual Summer Scheme. Two voyages took place on


22 and 29 July, visiting Helsinki and Rotterdam en route and allowing students to go ashore and experience the culture of all three countries. On board, students joined


the crew to gain knowledge and insight into what is required to run a container ship from maintenance to navigation. Participants were asked to keep a diary of their experience which will then be used on the High Tide blog once they return. Project co-ordinator at


the High Tide Foundation, Lauren Bywater, said: “We are incredibly lucky to be able to


give our students these kind of experiences. They really are once-in-a-lifetime trips. High Tide works with lots of fantastic companies on Teesside that share the same vision as we do; and investing in the foundations of our future is top of the agenda for all.” High Tide is planning fundraising


a event on 18


September, which has already attracted over 450 participants, adds David Robinson. He commented: “We hope to develop and get even more industries engaged. We’re already twice as busy this year as last and that year we were twice as busy as the year before. And we’re attracting some big names, like Emirates airline and major retailers. But the real stars of High Tide are the youngsters themselves.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40