Logistics Stories

“My role is an exciting one, in which I get the opportunity to work alongside some of the largest retailers in the UK, and support them with ways to improve their International supply chains.”

Lee’s focus is on understanding those retailers’ needs, then looking into the data, working with internal and external stakeholders, and project managing, before presenting solutions and tracking the benefits. His role demands a variety of skills, including consultative selling, problem solving, data analysis and visualisation, as well as both account and project management.

Lee worked his way up to his current role from trainee planner, and he values analysis, problem solving, logical thinking and a drive to deliver as his strongest professional assets.

When the job came up internally, Lee was quick to jump on an opportunity to learn and develop within the Sea Logistics International Supply Chain team. His main attraction to the role was the support he could give customers with their goals and targets, helping to solve problems that are causing them to lose sleep at night.

“I left college with not great A-levels and went straight into manual labour. I ended up working on a land based drilling rig. Working in this environment taught me a level of resilience, and problem solving – even though it wasn’t through data – was still massively present. On the rig with limited resources it amazed me that if something broke down, certain members of the team could fix it to ensure the job continued – through their experience and knowledge.”

It wasn’t until working in the office on that rig that Lee learned what logistics was. The logistics lead took him under their wing to show him how things worked operationally, and the rest is history.

Growing up in a rural community, Lee was always searching for opportunities to discover and learn new things. He’s forever grateful for the doors logistics has opened for him, and the ones still up ahead.

“Every day is so different, and I get to work with amazing colleagues, and customers who provide challenges for us to solve collaboratively.”

Following a product’s life cycle, and its journey from an order being placed, to that product being produced on the other side of the world, shipped, and then transported to the warehouse, is something Lee is fascinated by: “How we can influence the end customer experience by changing something 5,992+ miles away is incredible.”

Lee was part of the Regional Talent Programme at Kuehne + Nagel, and was one of 100 colleagues across Europe identified for their high performance.

“This was something I never thought I would get to take part in as I have never seen myself as a high performer. I just love the world of logistics!”

Daniella’s current role within the company is as Account Manager for SME clients (small to medium enterprise). Her customer portfolio is made up of accounts that have been won by her colleagues in the Business Development team and my main goal is to expand our current business with the clients, whether that be increasing volume or encouraging them to use the wide variety of services Maersk has to offer. She manages the account not just from a commercial perspective—she is the main point of contact for her clients. Resolving any issues they may have, answering all queries and ultimately ensuring that their account is managed correctly resulting in seamless business.

Prior to joining Maersk, Daniella achieved an undergraduate degree in English & Hispanic studies from the University of Nottingham. She joined Maersk as an apprentice and successfully completed her L3 qualification in Business Administration. Whilst these qualifications were not required for her current position, Daniella strongly believes they aided her in gaining this role.

Daniella was attracted to shipping and logistics due to the multitude of roles and development opportunities the industry has to offer. Since joining Maersk, she has worked within the sales support team, the control team, as a customs process administrator, a customs product and sales representative and now as an account manager.

The most beneficial she has developed within logistics is adaptability; this sector is ever-changing so having the ability to adjust to unforeseen circumstances and demonstrate resilience is key. Along with the ever-changing nature of this sector comes a need for problem-solving skills and the capability to rapidly implement solutions or come up with innovative ideas.

“The best thing about my role is the people. I am extremely lucky to have a team that encourages my growth and supports me daily.”

Her role is customer facing so she can interact with several different people every day.

It was difficult for Daniella to choose just one career highlight; Maersk and the logistics sector has opened so many doors for her. She has had the opportunity to participate in global networking, visit parliament and promote the logistics sector and ultimately grow as a young woman—learning from so many incredible individuals.

From graduate to Account Manger. Lauren’s decade at Culina Group has seen her develop and progress to a role she loves. 

“After graduating from university in 2010, I decided to work for a year but had no idea what I wanted to do. I discovered an opportunity as a Customer Service assistant at Culina Group, and although I had no previous experience within the logistics industry, I knew that I enjoyed helping people and problem solving, so decided to apply”.

In a fast paced environment where she was able to liaise with team members and customers as well as problem solve, Lauren gained new skills and moved to Load Consolidator and the Lead Controller in just over a year.

“Both of these roles allowed me to develop my skills around project work and driving efficiencies within the department”. 

After a few busy years within the CS team, an opportunity arose for a Team Leader role. With support and guidance from the company she successfully achieved the promotion.

“This role was exciting, I managed the day to day operation of the team, and could offer training and guidance to those who were new to the business. I am now in the role of Account Manager, something I wanted to pursue to further my understanding of the business and develop areas such as commercial and forecasting knowledge. My overall responsibility is to maintain and develop the relationship with my customer, which I absolutely love”. 

“My advice to anyone who is looking to join the Customer Service Internship would be… go for it! This business gives opportunities to everyone and it could be the best decision you ever make!”

Sam is serious about reaching the career goals he’s set for himself; Sam has his eye on one day running Premier Logistics himself.

Working for your own family’s business can be hard on younger generations with such hopes. But his dad, who owns Premier, is putting him through his paces. Following in the footsteps of his older brother Macauley, who also began his career with Premier in the warehouse over 10 years ago, Sam realises he has big shoes to fill and is invested in working his way through the business to gain experience in all aspects of logistics and fleet services. He’s worked in the warehouse for the past 11 months, during which time he’s gained his Forklift and Flexi Licences and says he’s learning from his colleagues every day.

“I spend my days unloading, prepping and loading the trucks, helping out colleagues in the garage and learning as much as I can from everyone I work with. We all have a great relationship and I think that’s down to the way Premier is so well-managed and operated. It’s created a culture that’s so warm and welcoming of everyone.”

One of the most valuable lessons he’s learnt from his time in the warehouse is what’s required to succeed in the logistics sector.

“You must have a strong mentality in this industry. You need to be able to take orders but also have the confidence to give orders yourself and to express what you need for you to do your job safely and in the most efficient way for customers.”

Over the next 12 months, Sam hopes to learn the ropes of the office and more about the systems and technology Premier uses, as well as build client relations as his brother has done before him, seeing Sam become a trusted ally in one day running the business together.

“If I really push myself hard I could work up to a managerial role in the next five years. And in the future, hopefully, I can join my brother in running the business.”

Upon leaving college at 18, Sarah secured a job as an export clerk at Clarks, she had no idea what that meant and spent the next couple of years trying to learn the language of logistics.

“Oh how logistics loves an acronym … upon leaving Clarks I joined a logistics company because I thought I knew everything about logistics, oh how wrong was I.”

After more than 25 years in logistics and having worked in the UK, Türkiye, UAE. Sarah has travelled the world in various roles and is still learning. Resilience, adaptability, and problem solving are 3 major skills that come to Sarah’s mind within logistics.

Once she started in logistics, Sarah was hooked. Logistics touches every single industry, every product you see, touch, and use, logistics has played a part. Learning the intricacies of logistics allows you to get to be involved in anything from ensuring products are in the shops for people to buy, medicines and equipment in the hospitals for patients and if lucky even logistics to support those in our armed forces protecting each of us.

Within logistics there is a role for everyone. Whether that be a fixed amount of hours, flexible working hours in a fixed location or flexible locations and hours logistics has it all.

Sarah feels that she has been fortunate that there have been many career highlights but if she has to choose then it was the difference, she felt she made during the lockdown both to the company and our country. Logistics really came to the forefront during the pandemic and for those of us in it, we had to simply roll up our sleeves and get involved in keeping the world moving.

Josh was attracted to the GXO graduate scheme because logistics was new to him, and he was so excited to learn. Now working as Assistant Finance Manager, where he works to keep the GXO Milton Keynes site running smoothly, Josh first started out on the graduate scheme.

As part of the graduate scheme, Josh completed rotations of different teams to build his skillset.
First, as a Fixed Asset Assistant, he worked on creating CAPEX projects, fixed assets and their registers, and learned to report to the wider business. He then became a credit controller, taking on two ledgers of GXO customers.

“This gave me a good understanding of how large the logistics business is and a good overview of how many customers we serve. I managed to visit a number of sites in this placement, seeing the different challenges faced by each site.”

After just one year of his graduate scheme, Josh became an Assistant Finance Manager, and is currently working towards his level 7 CIMA chartership.

“GXO offers so many different qualifications, I am hoping to complete my CIMA soon so that I can build my development in other areas. For the future, I want to gain as much experience as possible. I don’t see myself moving to another sector as I feel like there is always something new to learn. CFO of GXO one day.”

A highlight for Josh is working and contributing as part of a wider team and GXO community. He loves being able to ask that burning question without worry, and is keen to stress that the support provided is fantastic.

“Working in logistics has been more interesting than I ever thought it could be. To someone considering a career in the industry, I’d say do it, there’s so many different career paths – there’s definitely something that you’ll love to do. Plus it’s secure, people will always need things moving!”

As a veteran and someone coming back from a serious accident, Steven’s used logistics as a means to turn his life around. It’s meant completing a big learning curve and becoming a fully qualified class 1 driver:

“They made me feel comfortable, so that I was learning all the time. No question is stupid – it’s just a matter of speaking to those around you.”

Steven credits the job, and the new career direction, with giving him a major boost.

“I’ve never been happier, truthfully. It’s made me a better person. To anyone who’s been down and depressed like me, I’d just tell them not to give up and to embrace opportunities you may get.”

Neil’s role is to provide strategic challenge to the executive teams of the businesses that he works with, to ensure good governance and to ensure that the obligations to all stakeholders (shareholders, customers, staff) are being met.

He needed Senior experience in business, and a deep knowledge of supply chain management, logistics, home delivery, technology, business innovation and transformation for his role. Neil gained the roles through an extensive network of contacts, built up over many years of working in retail and logistics.

In terms of attraction, Neil is keen to share his knowledge and experience with a range of organisations and hopefully to help them to realise their ambitions. Neil has an almost obsessive focus on customer service, how to lead great teams, how to develop great people and how to build strong business propositions.

“The day-to-day variety – but that has always been the case in terms of a career in logistics.”

Neil has had too many great career highlights to mention – but building new, innovative customer-centred propositions with great teams has been core to the most enjoyable moments.

A passion for technology might be what got Benjamin started on the path to a career in logistics, given he knew little about the sector.

“If you asked me what I knew about the sector, I’d say not a lot!”

“I’d never considered logistics, due to my interest in sports, but this changed when I read about GXO’s graduate programme.”

The programme led to a role in projects, with Benjamin now identifying new technology solutions to implement across Northern European sites, and supporting innovation projects.

The best thing about the role?

“Being able to induce my genuine interest in new solutions. I’m surprised at the technology used in logistics – I wasn’t aware there could be roles like this focussed on technology.”

Benjamin’s initial placement has now become a permanent role – one where he’s looking to grow within his team, and to continue the hunt for exciting new technologies.

It’s a role that fits Benjamin perfectly, and he thinks there could be a fit for you too.

“Logistics is so vast and offers all sorts of different roles for different characters. It’s incredibly diverse and can help you develop quickly.”

Sarah is currently working as a Customs Compliance Officer, part of a larger and diverse Compliance team at Maersk. Her role involves identifying, managing, and mitigating compliance risks associated with CHB execution, while providing advice and guidance to the business in customs compliance related areas.

Sarah started as a Customs Process Administrator; Maersk enrolled her on the UK Customs Academy Level 2 Customs Practice & Procedure course. This training introduces the core concepts of international trade and customs. Upon successful completion of this course, she was given the option to progress to the Level 4 Certificate in Advanced Customs Compliance. To become a Customs Compliance Office at Maersk, a UKCA L2 (or higher) qualification is required.

After completing her A-levels, Sarah decided not to attend university. In October 2019, she decided to try something different and change career paths. Sarah thought she would need to gain some experience in other sectors and began searching for entry level positions. On the gov.uk apprenticeship webpage, there was a position advertised at Maersk to complete a Level 3 Business Administration qualification.

“On reflection, I think that at the time of applying, working in logistics was secondary to my objective of gaining experience and completing a qualification. Though once I started at Maersk, I was surprised to discover the breadth and scope of the industry.”

She joined Maersk in November 2019 as an apprentice and was allocated to the Control Team, afterwards she moved to a Customs Process Administrator role in preparation for Brexit. Sarah welcomed the opportunity to study, in more depth, an aspect of logistics that she had encountered whilst on the Control Team. After working within Customs for around 2 years, she moved to a role within the Compliance team in March 2023 to further develop her knowledge and skills.

Sarah would describe herself as inquisitive and solution oriented and enjoys the challenge of a puzzle. She also enjoys dynamic environments, through previous careers, she has learnt to work collaboratively and creatively to solve issues, paying attention to detail to ensure successful completion of tasks and projects.

Sarah has been afforded many amazing opportunities whilst working at Maersk. An absolute highlight for her was being invited to attend a Parliamentary Reception as part of Generation Logistics. It was an otherworldly experience, and an incredible opportunity to meet with people passionate about this industry!

Tori’s role includes ensuring all Fresh, Ambient, and Non-Food volume is effectively and efficiently delivered into our Tesco Distribution Network. She works with our suppliers and manages our hauliers through regular reviews to ensure service targets are achieved, identifying any trends and themes, and supporting with robust plans for promotions and seasonal uplifts. Tori is responsible for a team of 16 Colleagues, managing successful business relationships and ensuring that our customers’ needs are prioritised at every stage.

For the Distribution Graduate Programme, she needed a university degree, however her current role does not require any specific qualifications.

Tori joined Tesco on their two-year rotational management programme, which included spending two weeks working in our Tesco stores learning how they operate and link to my role. She began her journey as a Warehouse Team Manager and moved into Transport as a Delivery Service Team Manager, gaining breadth of business experience, and providing her with new challenges and more responsibilities. Tori then took an opportunity to learn a different area of the business and moved into Customer Fulfilment as a Delivery Manager, before settling into her role as an Account Manager.

Interpersonal skills, problem solving, and attention to detail are all key skills for a role in logistics. Being able to communicate effectively and build trusting relationships with key stakeholders is vital to understanding the needs of customers, working well as a team, and cultivating a positive outlook.

Making prompt decisions and resolving problems are also needed to provide excellent service and retain customers. In addition to paying attention to every detail, no matter how big or small, is key to avoiding problems such as delayed deliveries.

Tori enjoys talking to and meeting people, working as part of a team, and visiting suppliers and hauliers where she has gained an insight into operations outside of Tesco.

“Each day is different with new challenges and lots of variety, and I have been lucky to find what I enjoy and what keeps me ticking!”

Tori’s roles in Tesco have shaped her leadership style and it has been rewarding to deliver service improvements whilst supporting Tesco suppliers and working together with our hauliers to make a big difference for our customers.

Luke started DHL as an Apprentice Operations Agent in BRS SVC. He was one of the first apprentices in Operations. After successful completion of his apprenticeship, He continued employment at DHL as Operations Agent. Luke then moved into Sales as Sales Admin Support; he was then shortly promoted to Mobile Customer Support Advisor. Luke then took up a secondment as a Tender Manager and has recently returned as Mobile Customer Support Advisor.

“Logistics is an interesting industry to work in and no day is the same. The opportunity to progress and develop new skills in DHL is endless.”

Being promoted as a Tender Manager on a secondment basis and enrolling a successful project for Sales, ‘Account Manager Pack’ was a big step in his career. This allowed him to develop his skills and confidence. Luke is going to be enrolled out as a BDP across Europe.

Like many in the logistics industry, Poppy hadn’t considered working in the sector before she landed a job in the finance department of Premier Logistics, based in Leicestershire.

As the step-daughter of CEO Lee Christopher, she was introduced to the sector after studying criminology and psychology at college. Her original plan was to study psychology at university, but she found herself eager to break out of education and into a career as soon as she could.

Transferable skills she’d gained from her studies gave her the confidence and ambition to thrive in Premier’s finance team as Assistant Accountant. She started the role in November 2023 and enrolled on a level two AAT apprenticeship in accountancy, bookkeeping and finance in January 2024.

“Criminology and psychology are investigative and so is finance – you definitely have to be a problem solver. I enjoy learning on the job, working with money, handling people’s accounts, and talking to customers.”

Despite family connections in the business, Poppy has been treated as any other employee. “I was interviewed like everyone else and there have been no special perks, this is a very fair and equal working space. We’re all considered family, and we all represent Lee. We have to put ourselves at his standard and practice a similar work ethic because when people deal with us, they’re dealing with an extension of Lee and his values.”

Brought up around vehicle enthusiasts, Poppy was pleased to discover career prospects in logistics. “I’ve always liked cars and so working in logistics is interesting to me and it’s a different kind of career – especially as a girl. I’m outnumbered when it comes to the transport department but it’s mainly women in accounts. It’s nice to do something that’s normally male dominated. Women sometimes have a different perspective on things that I think positively impacts the business.”

She’s so impressed with the opportunities in the sector that she has ideas on how to attract more of her generation to it.

“A lot of people my age have never thought about working logistics, they don’t even know what it means! It’s a massive industry but so upspoken about so it wouldn’t have even crossed my mind if it weren’t for Lee. Getting more young people into logistics is important. I think it starts with jobs fairs – you never really see the logistics industry represented at them. When I was at college, I thought finance would be boring, so I think making it more approachable by going to jobs fairs with younger colleagues is one way of appealing to younger workers.”

As a Senior Marketing Executive at Cubo,  Niall is responsible for creating and executing marketing campaigns to drive growth and brand awareness in the fast-paced logistics industry.

Niall’s role required at least 2 years’ experience in a similar B2B marketing role as well as experience using social channels and having proficiency in tools such as WordPress to manage the company website and an understanding of activities including SEO and Analytics.  Niall also completed his undergraduate degree in Business Management at Queens University in Belfast and went on to complete a further Masters Degree at Ulster University in Digital Media Communications.

Niall was ready for a change from his previous job and was actively seeking for a new role. He came across the job advert on LinkedIn and connected with the advertising recruiter to find out more information about Cubo.

Niall was drawn to Cubo as it is a fast-growing company with a cool new brand and innovative telematics products that are helping to revolutionize the logistics industry. As a marketer, he is excited to help Cubo build brand awareness and reach new customers.

“I’m  passionate about sustainability and safety, so I’m thrilled to be working with a company that is using technology to make the logistics industry more efficient and eco-friendly.”

Marketing roles often get limited to a few specific activities but the best thing about Niall’s role is getting exposure to the whole spectrum of marketing activities. He particularly enjoys working on Case Studies with our customers to highlight how Cubo have helped to transform their fleet operations on a day-to-day basis and it is rewarding to highlight important metrics such as fuel saved, reductions in carbon emissions and hours saved from automating processes.

So far, a great accomplishment has been increasing the Cubo LinkedIn following from 396 from when Niall started in the role to 870 and counting – an increase of 120% in less than a year.

Emily’s current role is to do financial analysis for any logistics buildings or land Prologis acquire, sell or build. This then feeds into our investment committee report which is where we obtain formal internal approval to buy, sell or build the building or land. She also has some buildings that she am responsible for leasing, this is an area my career is developing into.

For her role, she needed the following qualifications: A Levels, university degree and to become a RICS accredited surveyor – to achieve this, you need an RICS-accredited university degree. (Being an RICS accredited surveyor is the standard route into commercial property, but it is possible to get analyst jobs without the accreditation).

Emily started her career at a consultancy firm via a university careers fair and then did a summer internship with them. After qualifying and passing her RICS exams, she was approached by a recruiter for the job at Prologis.

She has always been interested in the built environment. She comes from a farming background as her dad was a dairy farmer, so she had a rural manufacturing. She thinks this early fascination is what drew her into a career in logistics.

Emily loves the social interaction of her job.

“I like the fact not every day is the same and I don’t have to sit at a desk all day as making relationships and networks is extremely important.”

When she first joined Prologis, she was lucky enough to work in Amsterdam for just over 2 years. This was a highlight as her job allowed her to travel Europe as she was responsible for the European business financial underwriting of acquisitions. She always wanted a job that allowed her to travel and Prologis enabled her to have that.

Millie is on a management graduate scheme where she is learning key management skills around the business in various teams. Her focuses are people and project management with different focuses in each rotation. She is currently in a role in sponsorship within marketing at DHL where she works with our partners on various projects, for example The Residence, a member’s club at the O2 where we host some of our customers. The job required a 2:2 or above in an undergraduate degree.

Millie learned about this role via recommendation from a friend of a friend who was about to begin the DHL supply chain graduate scheme.

She had a broad range of experiences, ranging from jobs in insurance to the world of luxury travel PR. Alongside this she has done a lot of travelling across South America and Southeast Asia. This has majorly developed her adaptability, flexibility and versatility as she faces new challenges every day.

“The logistics industry is dynamic, with constant changes in demand, regulations, and technology – therefore these skills are vital. Unexpected challenges often arise in logistics, such as delays, disruptions, or changes in demand.”

The independence you gain from managing your own projects – creative and otherwise. Is what Millie loves about her role. Her most memorable achievement so far has been working with Harlequins and supporting on the DHL activations at the games.

Gemma has been working in logistics for over 16 years, having started with Maersk after completing her A-Levels. As she progressed, her role and expertise rapidly developed.

“I’ve had a number of roles in customer service, sales and business change. I’ve been lucky to live and work abroad, with a range of stakeholders and functions.”

For a period, Gemma’s work took her to India, but wherever she’s been located, and whatever role she’s done, she’s found her core skills of teamwork, leadership and collaboration have been crucial.

“There are so many different channels, elements and roles that provide so many exciting opportunities. I am still learning so much. Paired with the opportunity to be part of such an integral industry to world trade, I find it incredibly interesting.”  

Alongside her current role, Gemma is also part of the Area Senior Leadership Team, making her a superb example of the personal development and progression that such a key part of the sector’s workplace culture.

Rob’s role is to help Tesco grow its rail network through Primary and fresh volume. Tesco Primary covers the start of our supply chain, this is collecting direct from supplier gates and delivering into our distribution centres to be sorted and moved onwards to our store. He works closely with suppliers and hauliers to divert road volume through our rail network at a financially competitive rate.

No specific degree or qualification was needed for the role Rob is currently in. The key requirements for his role were strong communication skills, team working experience with both Tesco and external colleagues and a problem-solving work ethic.

He started working for a haulier that covered jobs for Tesco straight after university and maintained a Tesco customer contract with them afterwards. This opened his eyes to the distribution world within Tesco and helped him, learn some of the ways of working here. Rob then found the actual role on the Tesco careers website.

Rob has always had a personal interest in both sustainability and logistics. Helping to develop a retailer such as Tesco’s rail network and encouraging suppliers to move from trucks to trains seemed like the perfect opportunity to combine these passions. At University, Rob studied international business, quite a broad degree, a few modules were based on operations and supply chain, but we covered a vast curriculum. He realised he was more suited to a logistics role during his placement year.

“I feel being immersed in the day-to-day fast paced business quickly taught me more than my first two years at university combined, learning the start to end, day to day operation of an off-grid LPG and heating oil delivery company! It was almost a trial and error for me, and I stumbled onto the truck planning side and felt I could connect routes as though it was a puzzle and got a buzz from it.”

Rob’s favourite things about his role can be split into two. Firstly, there is a job satisfaction that comes with growing the rail network. Every truck we can take off the road reduces our supply chains road miles and in turn is a step in the right direction to help counter climate change.

The second is that his role can be quite a creative. You are provided a problem and need to find a solution. Over Christmas some of our “festive 7” veg came from Spain, this meant Spanish truck drivers would drive from the likes of Valencia all the way to Livingston and back. We managed to source a site near our rail terminal for these trucks to cross-dock onto refrigerated rail by train. This would be saving the driver over a day of driving!

Last year Tesco won the Logistics UK award for rail business of the year. This felt so rewarding after all the hard work we as a team had put in throughout the year.

Jack works in a fast-paced distribution environment where no day is the same.
He takes ownership of day-to-day warehouse activities by managing the operation to be safe and efficient, understands colleagues` operational needs, ensuring they are supported to do their jobs and leads a great and safe place to work with your team.

Jack’s unsure if his job requires any specific qualifications however, coming from the shop floor upwards put him in good stead for the job role.

He was promoted through the options scheme at Tesco, He started off as a warehouse operative, progressed to a co-ordinator and was then signed onto options, following a successful placement, Jack was signed off and due to no positions available at the DC he applied for a role in store.

Jack has a drive to be the best version of himself possible and naturally the next step was to become a manager. He always looks forward and try to become 1% better each day. Jack previously played football for Liverpool FC for 8 years which was an extremely fast paced environment, which is like his work life now.

“I my best to challenge and stretch myself every day, I enjoy working in a team environment and getting the best out of my peers each day.”

The highlight of Jacks career so far has been being enrolled onto the emerging talent community this year. He did not think of it as a big deal when he was first enrolled however, seeing the investment that has gone into this and how much of an opportunity that we all have is really exciting and something he is really looking forward to grasping.

Joshua initially wanted to perform on the stage, but when Covid hit the UK he realised that he’d need to build a career elsewhere. Although the leap from aspiring actor to working at the Chemical Business Association might sound significant, Joshua realised that he had a lot of transferable skills:

“I’ve always been good at communication and interacting with people so this job suited me perfectly. It’s really helped to be confident standing up and giving speeches and presentations.”

Joshua’s role as a Member Services Representative at the Chemical Business Association involves handling member enquiries from all sizes of chemical manufacturers, distributors and logistics customers, helping them deal with regulatory issues (as well as managing the association’s social channels). 

“I like that each day is different – the association has a really diverse membership and that’s meant I’ve learnt a huge amount in a very short period of time”

Josh’s role is a degree level position, and since he’s started he’s been working to help attract other young people to this type of role.

“I volunteered to spearhead an initiative to improve the perception of the Chemical Industry and attract future generations to it.”

By creating a group of young professionals called the ‘Future Council’ (from across the Chemical Supply chain), Joshua has been working closely with the Catalyst Museum to engage Year 9 students and show them the opportunities of the profession.  

People are what make the logistics world turn, so the professionals who look after them, drive their progress and ensure their work is successful and fulfilling have a particularly relevant place in the industry.

Amanda’s role as Head of People in Group Operations & Transport at Wincanton is exactly that kind of role.

‘I contribute to the leadership, strategy and direction of the sector – supporting Directors and senior leaders in functional areas, whilst supporting a culture of high performance and continuous improvement.’

Though Amanda’s role now feels like such a perfect fit, logistics wasn’t always on her radar.

‘I don’t think I realised I was suited to a role in logistics until I worked in logistics! But I previously worked for one of the big food retailers in a number of operational and leadership roles, so on reflection this was a great foundation.’

Transferable skills have made all the difference, then, as has her ambition and passion for people.

‘The best thing about my role is genuinely the people I get to work alongside! My peers, my people team, the operational teams or our colleagues in the centre.’

Moving careers can be a daunting prospect, but skills and experience gathered from a diverse range of past workplaces can be applied to the logistics industry in all sorts of ways. That’s exactly what Helen brings to her role as a Risk Manager.

“I gained transferable skills through my time in the army, and working for a Local Authority. Prioritising responsibilities, dealing with emergencies, organisational skills, communication, qualifications around training, debriefing, trauma management, and strategic management in emergencies.”

That role isn’t so much about ownership of the risk, as it is about becoming an expert in the subject matter, through facilitation, problem solving and communication – both verbal and written. But it wasn’t a role, or an industry, that appealed at first.

“For my generation, it was never an aspiring career choice when I was at school. Although growing up as a young girl, the idea of being a long-distance lorry driver really appealed to me! Fast forward a number of years and being invited in for an interview I was very intrigued with the industry. I never realised the depth of roles required in logistics.

A whole world of opportunities spread out in front of Helen, offering everything from compliance and regulations, to analytics, project management, training and IT. Day to day, she collaborates with senior managers and business unit managers to keep risk assessments up to date, as well as contributing to education and training. A continuing challenge, but one that uses all sorts of skills for all kinds of rewards.

Within BIFA, Brooke is responsible for the creation and distribution of all Member communications including social media, e-newsletters, and website updates, including industry updates and event promotion.

As she started as an apprentice, there were no formal qualifications that she needed prior to starting at BIFA. During her time here, Brooke has been working towards a Level 4 in PR & Communications.

Ever since her GCSEs, Brooke knew she wanted to go into digital communications, as the variety of the role always appealed to her. Brooke started looking online and came across the gov.uk apprenticeship website, which is where she found and applied for her current role at BIFA.

Whilst not being in the operational side of logistics, given the nature of her role, she is constantly surrounded by logistics, a world in which she never thought she would find herself. The best thing about Brooke’s role is the variety of tasks she undertakes on a day to day basis.

“I know it’s a bit of a cliché to say ‘no two days are the same’ but no other phrase describes my role as precisely as this. My role spans the entire team at BIFA so there’s no predicting what will come my way, but that is what makes my job so refreshing and exciting!”

The highlight that stands out the most in Brooke’s career so far would be the campaign behind the 2023 BIFA awards. She was solely responsible for the entire communications campaign which was an incredibly daunting task! The campaign itself is the most complex that BIFA runs each year, and she knew from the start that it would be a massive job. It combined communications, PR, and advertising and was something completely new to her.

Looking back, the campaign ran smoothly, and this is something that she is immensely proud of. Knowing that she was trusted by the team at BIFA to carry out the entire campaign herself, despite her junior level within the business, filled her with confidence.