Logistics Stories

As the Customs Risk and Audit Manager for the Europa Worldwide group, George is responsible for the group’s compliance with customs regulations / legislation and risk management strategy. This involves developing and implementing robust audit procedures to ensure the risk posed to the group through our customs operations are managed, reported on, and mitigated where possible.

He manages a team of customs compliance supervisors who conduct the auditing of declarations completed and the systems used within various customs divisions of the group across the UK & EU. The data that is produced from their auditing is compiled into output reports that are presented to the groups directors to discuss areas of concern with suggestions on how to implement I.T development to correct non-compliance and areas of focus for retraining.

His job requires a strong understanding of customs regulations and legislation as well as attention to detail and he has completed various levels of customs compliance academy training to further his knowledge however specific qualifications are not required.

George started working in the logistics industry when he was 19 as a junior customs clerk preparing declarations for sea freight containers. Since then, he has worked in various departments from a commercial customer facing role to operations, however since Brexit there has been a demand for people with an appetite for customs. George started at Europa in October 2020 as a Senior Customs declarant and from there has progressed to his current role.

The Customs Risk and Audit Manager position for George was a chance to develop and strengthen his understanding of global customs legislation whilst also being an opportunity to instil a “compliance focus” throughout the group. He believes by analysing the existing processes and procedures and adapting them to mitigate risk more efficiently he could really see a difference from the work he is doing daily.

Exposure to ever changing legislation and regulations and being able to successfully react as well as analysing and noticing improvements in the group’s overall compliance position is a big part of logistics.

Successfully overseeing the transition from the customs systems CHIEF to CDS was a great career highlight for George.

Leyla is the first IT apprentice at Europa.

This is her first job after school and college, so this is her first experience of a working environment. Leyla was really looking for a role that she could grow and develop with, and this apprenticeship scheme offered the perfect opportunity to do just that. It was really important to Leyla that she was able to work and develop her knowledge at the same time.

Leyla studied IT at North Kent College which pushed her to give the industry a try. When she left college, she didn’t feel like university was the right route for her as she really wanted to be able to work at the same time as studying.

Leylas mum works within the Finance team at Europa. When she was planning her next steps after college, her mum mentioned her interest in IT to the Europa team and they had already been looking into apprenticeships.

“Choosing the apprenticeship route really appealed to me and I feel it has really pushed me to learn quicker and to face real-life scenarios.”

Logistics was a completely new industry for Leyla. Since joining the Europa team, she has found it so interesting to understand the different elements of the logistics industry and the company itself. She really loves the challenge of her role. Each day is different, and you can encounter so many different scenarios which she really likes. Leyla doesn’t feel like she has just one role which is great, there is always something new to understand and learn:

Leyla has always had an interest in IT so when this position became available, she knew it was something she really wanted to try. Logistics has hooked her in. She finds it a really interesting and varied industry to work in. Leyla hopes she can progress within the team.

Leyla would give the following advice to someone going into an apprenticeship:

“Give yourself time to do the apprenticeship work, space things out. I have always found it quite overwhelming having lots of things to do at once but as I now manage my time around work and my apprenticeship work, I feel like I am able to balance things. I focus on blocking out specific time to go over key work to ensure I am always on top of my academic work. My apprenticeship programme has a lot of activities to complete and my team at Europa have been really supportive, helping me to manage my workload and learn as I go.”