Skills for Logistics awarded £1.14m to build bridge from military to civilian logistics

Skills for Logistics (SfL) has been awarded £1.14 million, under the third phase of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills' Employer Investment Fund (EIF3), to deliver a programme for transition from military to civilian logistics for up to 1000 people leaving the armed forces.

Through its EIF3 funded Military Transitions to Logistics programme, SfL will provide a specific route into the sector for ex-Armed Forces personnel, principally through existing and newly established Local Logistics Community Networks (LLCNs).

Commenting on SfL's ambition to address two challenges with this programme, Mick Jackson, CEO of Skills for Logistics said: "The sector has a requirement for skilled labour, particularly to fill acute driver shortages. Skilled labour exists within the Armed Forces but does not or cannot transfer effectively into civilian job roles. It is this market failure we seek to address."

He continued: "We know that of the 25,000 Apprenticeships awarded in the sector between August 2004 and July 2011, 12,000 were to apprentices in the Armed Forces. SfL's solution will ensure these logistics skills transfer into the sector by providing service leavers - who already possess formal qualifications and relevant military experience - with necessary work experience, on-the-job training, interview practice and formal interview feedback to better equip them for a career in the civilian world. This will add sector-specific value and provide a tailored pathway into the sector, in addition to the generic support provided through the existing resettlement programme operated through the Career Transition Partnership (CTP)."

Funded through the EIF3 investment, SfL's strategy will see it:

• Develop information advice and guidance (IAG) tools specifically aimed at service leavers and their subsequent employers
• Develop a framework for work placements including employer-led and delivered civilian appropriate training for driving, warehouse, traffic office and logistics' administrative roles
• Establish one new LLCN to test the roll out of work placements including on-the-job training, guaranteed interviews and feedback and deliver the same in existing LLCNs.

Mick Jackson concluded: "These steps will transform our sector, providing a bridge between employers and skilled ex-service personnel, delivering 1,000 work placements by the end of the programme, and 5,000 by 2016 with 250 employers committed to the programme."