On 22 July the Logistics Guild, in conjunction with leading logistics company DHL, began an intensive 5-day residential Work Placement experience for 100 soldiers with C+E driving licences to prepare them for careers as civilian drivers.

The response was overwhelming with 300 prospective candidates registering for just 100 places.

DHL provided classroom and practical-based tuition as well as the civilian rigs for driving practice while the army allowed part of its base at Kendrew Barracks in Rutland to be used for maneuvering practice and provided accommodation. 

 

At the end of the Work Placement, 100 drivers completed their Driver CPC and gained a Driver Qualification Card.

 

DHL and the Logistics Guild believe that ex-Servicemen and women have great transferable skills and experience for jobs within the civilian logistics industry.

 

Dan Harrington, Regional Trainer at DHL who ran the session said, “I know how important these opportunities can be, I am ex-military myself so I jumped at the chance to get involved with these guys.”

 

The Head of Kendrew Barracks, Lieutenant Colonel Steve Lonnen MBE, RLC said, “This is such a fantastic opportunity for some of our departing service personnel to engage with a leading commercial logistics company and bridge some key knowledge gaps.  This innovative and cost effective partnering agreement, whereby commercial businesses use their own vehicles within service establishments, can only be extremely positive and productive for all parties in the short, medium and long term.”

 

8200 attracted to the Guild’s online job fair

 

An online Job Fair run by the Careers Transition Partnership (CTP) and the Logistics Guild, on 30 July and 6 August to help ex-servicemen and women seeking careers in logistics attracted 8200 - a clear demonstration of interest in the industry. The event gave the participants the opportunity to talk to industry leaders and get advice from those who have already been through the resettlement process. There were also opportunities for participants to attend online webinars and send their CVs directly to prospective employers.

 

This digital interaction made it very easy for both the Logistics Guild team and soldiers to communicate with each other and allowed users to either post to a central message board or privately message the professionals they wanted to speak to.

 

The Driver CPC course, which the Logistics Guild is currently offering to military leavers, gained a huge amount of interest.

 

The feedback on the day was exceptionally positive; everybody the Logistics Guild team dealt with was very appreciative for the advice they had received. The Logistics Guild also took over 100 CVs from participants and passed them on to the Logistics Job Shop.