Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis they have conducted, if any, of shortage occupations in the logistics sector, ahead of the Christmas peak period.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Department recently established a People and Skills Delivery Group to deliver on priority commitments within our published ‘Future of Freight: A Long-Term Plan’.

To support the work of this group, the Department has conducted an assessment of the freight and logistics sector workforce, to get a baseline on the health of the sector that the group will monitor over time. This forum will enable Government and industry to collectively identify any shortage occupations for the sector and collaborate on activity to ensure we have sufficient labour and skills pipeline year-round, examining factors such as training provision, awareness and perception, and terms and conditions.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the (a) number of vacancies and (b) level of skill shortages in each occupation within the logistics industry.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The latest ONS data estimates vacancies in the Transport and Storage sector to be 47,000 between October-December 2022, down 15.3% on the previous quarter. We are taking forward initiatives to ensure the sector has the skills it needs, including the introduction of HGV skills bootcamps.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the causes of the shortage of level 2 qualified staff such as mechanics and technicians within the logistics industry; and what steps they intend to take to address this shortage.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is working with the industry to address skills issues. We are encouraging the sector to make employment more attractive through offering training, careers options and to invest in automation technology.

We are already supporting training through apprenticeships, including the level 2 Supply Chain Warehouse Operative apprenticeship and level 3 Transport and Warehouse Operations Supervisor apprenticeship.

There are currently level 3 apprenticeships for light and heavy vehicle technicians. Apprentices without level 2 English and Maths can apply for level 3 apprenticeships but will need to achieve this level prior to completion of their apprenticeship.