A Skills & Apprenticeship Zone highlighting the careers available to young people in Britain’s booming logistics sector, and featuring leading employers from across the sector, is the latest addition to IMHX 2016, taking place from 13-16 September at the NEC in Birmingham.
Rob Fisher, event director of IMHX, the UK’s leading logistics showcase, explains: “Logistics is a huge and booming sector, with more than 200,000 companies employing around 2.5 million people. As an industry, it is the fifth-largest employment sector in the country.
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“The new Skills & Apprenticeship Zone will show the brightest and the best that they don’t need to choose university as their route to a good career – and that a vocational route can take them into highly skilled managerial positions, but without the considerable debt burden that awaits following graduation.”
The logistics industry is the unsung hero of the UK economy, particularly as online shopping continues to grow, with all the logistics support that this entails. Worth an estimated £100bn to the UK economy, the modern logistics industry offers highly skilled roles in IT, engineering and management in a growing sector with great prospects.
“Leading companies across the UK are crying out for ambitious and motivated young people to take on interesting and challenging roles in logistics and allied industries,” continued Fisher.
Those participating in the Zone include industry-led initiative Think Logistics, which organises school and college visits by logistics professionals to explain to young people the opportunities available, and leading forklift truck manufacturers Toyota Material Handling; Linde Material Handling – whose apprentices will be stripping down and rebuilding a vehicle; Crown, and Jungheinrich.
The BITA Academy will also be on-hand providing information on apprenticeships.
Aftersales director for Linde Material Handling UK, Mark Sullivan, said: “We received a record number of applications for our apprenticeship scheme in last year’s intake, showing young people perceive them to be really useful for career progression.
“Each year we’re seeing apprentices reaping the rewards, learning new things and setting themselves up for a fantastic future in the materials handling industry.
“As a business, it’s so important for us to invest heavily in future generations, and create a highly diverse and skilled workforce. Participating in the IMHX 2016 Skills and Apprenticeship Zone enables us to demonstrate the role we can play in harnessing talent.
“We’re delighted to be part of it, and can’t wait to meet eager youngsters who are keen to learn more and ultimately build a rewarding career in this thriving environment.”
Tony Wallis, commercial director, Toyota Material Handling UK said: “As the world’s number one manufacturer of material handling equipment, we believe that giving the right people the opportunities and training to succeed is vitally important, which is why we are delighted to have a presence and be involved in the IMHX Skills & Apprenticeship Zone.
“We want to show the different types of apprenticeships and training programmes we have for people who want a career in the logistics industry, and this zone gives a focus for people who want to join the industry to gain information about the opportunities, but also see the products and speak to great people about what they do.”
