Haven Gateway Partnership - Need to attract more skilled people to shipping and logistics

THE need to attract more skilled people to the fast-growing ports, shipping and logistics industry has taken the Haven Gateway Partnership inland - to Birmingham.



The Partnership took a stand at the Cannon Hill Jobs Fair in Birmingham (held May 11-13), in order to promote the Haven Gateway as an area to live, work and play.

Meanwhile, the Port of Felixstowe, a member of the Haven Gateway, also had a stand at the Jobs Fair, in order to promote specific jobs at the port, particularly in engineering.

We went to Birmingham to look for suitable candidates to work in the Haven Gateway area, said Richard Morton, project manager for the Haven Gatewayís Maritime and Logistics Skills Centre (MaLSC). In particular, we were targeting engineers - especially those who may be looking for work as a result of the MG Rover collapse and subsquent effect on the supply chain in that area.

Those made redundant because of the MG Rover situation were invited to attend the Jobs Fair through the Jobcentre Plus redundancy scheme, which can also offer re-training packages. About 100 employers took stands at the Jobs Fair.

As well as selling what the Haven Gateway has to offer, Richard Morton was able to take down details of potential employees and their skills, to pass on to employers in the Haven Gateway area.

The Haven Gateway is working closely with businesses, trying to solve the immediate skills shortage issue, while at the same time we are working locally to create long-term skills solutions through our training and recruitment initiatives, he said. We must support our local businesses by helping them to attract the right skills.

Paul Davey, corporate affairs manager of Hutchison Ports (UK), which owns the Port of Felixstowe, said: We are facing skills shortages in certain areas. Although we have our own apprenticeship scheme we also need to recruit experienced engineers and have difficulty finding enough of them locally. As the ports and logistics sector expands in the Haven Gateway, the range of skills available locally needs to expand with it .