Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has signalled his support for young people considering logistics careers, describing the sector as “mission critical to how we live our lives” and celebrating logistics professionals as “the lifeblood of our economy” where “nothing happens without you and your colleagues.”
Speaking at a PM Connect town hall event, hosted at IKEA’s new Wincanton-operated distribution centre in Dartford, the Prime Minister outlined the importance of encouraging young people into logistics careers in light of Generation Logistics research showing that while 40% of respondents agreed the logistics sector is ‘crucial in keeping the country running’, only 10% would consider a role in the industry.
During his remarks, Mr Sunak championed the importance of communication and highlighted the varied and fulfilling roles that exist in the sector, saying, “I’m sure if any of your friends spend time with any of you or came here, they’d be pretty inspired by what all of you are doing and the skills you’re learning and the careers you’ve got.”
Generation Logistics is an industry-led, government-backed initiative to increase awareness and find the next generation of logistics talent. It was launched in August 2022 and is a collaboration between more than 40 leading companies and trade associations from across the industry, managed by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK (CILT(UK)) and Logistics UK.
The campaign uses ‘non-traditional’ communication channels to raise awareness among young people and has already generated almost 600,000 visits to the Generation Logistics Hub, and over three million engagements on social media such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.
Echoing the campaign’s strategy, the Prime Minister recognised the importance of highlighting the logistics careers open to young professionals by saying, “probably the best thing we can do is get you guys filming a bunch of videos and put that out there right now.”
Generation Logistics is speaking directly to the next generation of logistics professionals by promoting real people, doing real jobs, with real passion. Encouraging young people into the sector is critical and there can be no higher endorsement of the profession than the Prime Minister.
Bethany Windsor, Programme Manager of Generation Logistics
The Department of Transport recently announced its continued support for the campaign by pledging £300,000 for Year 2 activity, and organisations interested in supporting Generation Logistics in the second year of its campaign.
