MP takes the steering wheel for jobs in logistics.
Jobs in logistics during COVID.
Seema Malhotra, MP for Feltham and Heston visited Heathrow, Feltham LSA logistics centre last week to see the facilities, learn the current offer (Warehousing & Storage, Forklift, Reach Truck, employability training and Apprenticeships) and understand how West Thames College working with others such as JCP, DWP and employers etc are bringing funded courses to new recruits in logistics for local employers.
Talk was all about what more LSA will be offering in the context of post-COVID economic recovery, skills development and job opportunities.
Seema met a small number of forklift students (JCP referrals) on the day and trainers explained the Logistics delivery with a warehouse and demo of the Linde fork trucks.
Ms Malhotra met Judith Yemane from the West Thames College team who is responsible for the administrative side of things, including liaison with JCP and learners. She was also briefed on the good news stories in logistics including
-Burgeoning e-retail and express 'delivery to door' throughout lockdown
-Significance of this for the College with proximity to Heathrow; employer links etc.
-Large-scale jobs creation announcements by DPD and Hermes
-Destination data for our unemployed W&S, forklift and reach truck learners - >30% into employment
-The Express Delivery pre-employment introduction programme that we are working on with Government and the potential this has for progression to Apprenticeships and job creation
LSA support for recruitment in Express logistics
Eight units and one hundred hours all about Express logistics
Free of charge - an introduction to the sector for the next generation
LSA working with DWP Job Centre have sorted a six-week introduction course to express logistics. The six-week course is paid for by Job Centre with over a hundred hours of learning, it draws from eight units in the employer operator-developed express apprenticeship and is free for the express logistics company and free for the candidate. As an introduction to Express it sits across all streams - driver, sortation and office. It opens with ‘what is this thing we call Express?’ looks at brand, looks at the business model for final mile, explains the numeracy for package, volume to weight and pricing and covers national, regional geography with postcodes and logistics hotspots.
Think of this as your recruitment tool, and it's free
LSA chair, Carl Lomas explains -
Think of this assisting your recruitment; it brings a new candidate to you for interview with a solid grounding in what the Express sector is about. Candidates have to be unemployed, they take part in the course delivered by local colleges, get a solid grounding in the Express sector, then come to you for interview; driver, sortation or office. The course is based around an extract of the existing learner journal; it has unit learning, top operator tips, knowledge checkers and case studies. It's paper-based and interactive; candidates interact with their own notes to make the first step to knowledge to enter our express final mile sector. Top tips, interpretation notes and even a knowledge checker to help candidates in their first step to a new job role in express home delivery.
It's an email away - Mehdi Farr at West Thames College, LSA explains, ‘It’s a FREE six-week course - use it as your recruitment tool. West Thames College delivers it and the candidate arrives for interview with a foundation of knowledge to begin their journey in express logistics with you. First candidates will be ready for peak in Oct. If you want to interview these candidates email me for a call back, Mehdi Farr This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
