Government calls for local views on key transport industry skills and labour challenges

Maritime UK Solent (MUKS) is inviting businesses from the region’s wider transport and logistics sector to its next industry network event to share their views on the key challenges facing their industry with the Department of Transport (DfT).

Forming part of a national call for views and ideas to address skills issues for the UK transport and logistics sector, Angela Moore, Infrastructure Skills Lead at the DfT, will be speaking at the event and discussing how the Government is gathering evidence to inform future strategy.

Anne-Marie Mountifield, Chair of Maritime UK Solent, a Director of Maritime UK and Chief Executive for the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Skills and labour challenges are affecting the transport, haulage and logistics industry across the country. As the LEP outlined in its recently refreshed Solent Skills Report, while successful haulage and logistics are at the heart of the UK’s economy, the sector has struggled to recruit the staff it needs in recent years.

"As the country looks to recover and rebuild after the impacts of Covid-19, it has never been more important to attract and retain new employees to the sector. As a gateway region, the haulage and logistics sector perform an incredibly important role within the Solent economy. It is therefore vital for local businesses in these sectors to be able to share their views and ideas with the DfT and help inform future strategy and decision making for their industry.”

The virtual meeting, which takes place from 9am - 10:30am on 17 March, is relevant to the transport industry in its widest sense - airports, passenger and commercial rail, taxis, haulage, workboats, HGVs, haulage, distribution - and all the training organisations associated with them. Andrew Webster and Fay Reeve from Seawork will also be joining the network meeting to talk about the Maritime Journal Trade Fair aimed at the commercial marine and workboat markets taking place in June this year.

Click here to register for the online event.

Further information about meetings and events convened by Maritime UK Solent and the Solent LEP is available on the Solent LEP website.

You can also view The Government's document 'Transport Labour Market: Views and Ideas' online.