The UK Driving and Logistics industry in the UK is fast becoming one of the fastest-growing and largest employers in the UK with now over 2 million employees and representing 7% of the UK workforce and in 2019 the industry generated over £139 million.

The profile of the industry as an employer has grown over recent years, particularly since the pandemic and the critical nature of its infrastructure and how vital it is to keep the country moving. It is an industry that has already embraced AI and robotics technology, especially in the warehousing and distribution sectors of the industry, with many of the larger distributors like Amazon driving the changes to improve efficiency and tackle the issues of shortages in skilled employment.

This research has been carried out by Prologis UK, which is an owner, developer and operator of Logistics real estate in the UK. The stats in the research were only released in May this year and provide an excellent insight into the current employment in this thriving sector.

This is a well-paid industry with many diverse work opportunities, unfortunately, it is not attracting a younger audience into employment with only 7% of young adults saying they would consider a career in logistics. There is a lot of work the industry needs to do within the education sector to raise its profile and become a destination employer.

It has however made inroads into women joining and staying in the sector with numbers up over the last 4 years, growing from 34% to 39%. Logistics often offers women flexible working and it seems to have opened up for women in executive roles, with 6% of females and 6% of males employed in senior management positions, this is very encouraging for women who are aspirational and are looking for an industry that can offer a career.

It is also an industry that continues to employ a diverse workforce, with currently 12% non-native English Speakers, and it has had enormous success in bringing unemployed people back into the workplace, with You.Gov claiming that 20% of the sector was previously unemployed, and 1 in 4 previously long-term sick.

The logistics workforce has doubled in the last 10 years and it looks like it will pass the NHS has the UKs largest employer. The move to online during Covid is projected to continue to grow, even though there was some levelling out as we returned to the new normal, it is expected to continue to grow by a further 29% during 2022 and 2029 (Mintel 2022) and this will obviously continue to drive growth in the logistic and driving sector.

If you are looking for a recruitment company that understands the demands of the logistics industry, book in a call with one of our consultants in our head office in Romford and find out how we can support you in growing your logistics teams.