Generation Logistics Case Study

Tara Omed, Learning and Development Trainer – Europa.

I am originally from Stockholm, Sweden and, after attending the University of Stockholm to study teaching, I moved to the UK and joined the Europa Worldwide Group HR team as a Learning and Development (L&D) Trainer.

I am based at the firm’s headquarters in Dartford and my role is to deliver training across all the organisation’s divisions.

My previous position was a little too ‘jack of all trades’ for me so I was really looking for a position that was specifically focused on L&D. The role in general was really appealing to me; it incorporated everything I wanted to be doing and it provided a new challenge, exposing me to the dynamic logistics sector.

From the moment I joined Europa, I have felt so welcomed and can’t really imagine myself anywhere else. Since joining Europa, I have worked on various projects including remote training for our Europa Air & Sea teams in Shanghai, Dubai and Hong Kong and the development of e-learning modules.

No two days are the same for me. We work in such a fast-paced sector and company that there are constant moving parts. My role has exposed me to a completely new world, and I can see first-hand the positive changes being made within the sector.

Currently I am delivering our in-house management training programme which has been designed to ensure quality and consistency in management practices across the company. This training will be delivered across our three divisions, Europa Road, Europa Air & Sea and Europa Warehouse and our Group Central Services teams.

Now employing over 1,400 staff globally, we have trebled our workforce over the past 10 years which means providing our teams with the necessary training to ensure future progression and growth is vital.

The 12-month programme, being rolled out across our 17 sites in the UK and Ireland, consists of one full day classroom training session per month and all learners are supported with additional content and regular 1-2-1 sessions.

Given the wide variety of different functions across the organisation (Sales, Warehousing, Transport Planning, Finance, Supplier Relationship Managers to name just a few), it is really important that we understand how each team works and also what our learners’ primary challenges are. This helps us adapt each session to best meet the learner needs. In the past two years, our Learning and Development team has increased threefold which shows Europa’s investment in the vast and diverse training needs across the business.

Learning and development are important to me. I am currently working towards my CIPD Level 3 training in Learning and Development that will support my current work and future progression.

Since joining the Europa family, I have found a real passion for logistics and get a lot of fulfilment enabling the team to increase their skills. I am excited to be working towards a qualification that I feel will really support my growth within this sector.

My real standout memory from my time so far at Europa has to be the first training session I designed and delivered. Supporting mental wellbeing in the workplace has always been something that I am passionate about and so when, only four months into the role, I was given the opportunity to take ownership of creating our in-house module ‘Managing Mental Health Conversations’ it was both exciting and daunting at the same time.

It was a big step so early into my role, but I delivered the training and received some brilliant feedback and felt such pride.

This training programme was originally delivered to the Road and Customer Service Branch Managers and due to its success, is now fully integrated into our management training programme.

For me, now I have joined the logistics profession, I couldn’t imagine working within another sector. I find the variety, the people, the knowledge, and the enthusiasm of everyone is so powerful and motivating.

I take great pride in delivering our training sessions and always feel so pleased when another cohort has passed through our programmes. In the future, I am looking forward to continuing my work towards my CIPD qualification, creating more effective, bespoke training sessions, and further developing my knowledge and skill set.

I think logistics is a great sector to work in and I know it has some amazing possibilities for me as I progress within learning and development.