Logistics UK: apprenticeships help develop and retain talent, whatever the age

More than half of apprenticeship starters for the 2024/25 academic year were aged 25 or over, challenging the perception that apprenticeships are primarily a route into work for school leavers, according to Logistics UK. With more than 50% of apprenticeship starters aged 25 and above*, the business group is highlighting the growing role workplace learning plays in providing experienced employees with opportunities to develop new capabilities and progress their careers. This comes as the business group celebrates the achievements of the latest cohort of learners to complete its apprenticeship programmes.

Dominika Keska, who has worked in the transport industry for more than a decade, is a clear example of how apprenticeships can help experienced employees build on their professional knowledge, having completed Logistics UK’s Level 3 Transport Operations Supervisor Apprenticeship recently.

Ms Keska, who works as a VMU Administrator at Samworth Brothers Supply Chain, supporting fleet compliance and documentation, has a family member working in logistics, but that was not the key motivation for pursuing a career in the sector:

“My dad was a lorry driver, but that wasn’t what attracted me,” she explains. “I chose it because I wanted to invest in myself and gain qualifications that would safeguard my career. I’ve always enjoyed driving and being on the road, so getting my Class 1 qualification was a natural next step.”

Beginning her career as a driver, Dominika later moved into jobs in transport coordination, support and administration, where she learned about drivers’ hours, telematics systems and route planning.

But, as Ms Keska explains, there were still areas of the sector she was less familiar with: “It was after I began my role at Samworth Brothers Supply Chain that I realised I still had a lot to learn on the compliance side.”

This resulted in Ms Keska undertaking Logistics UK’s Level 3 Transport Operations Supervisor Apprenticeship, which provides the skills and knowledge needed to excel as a competent transport supervisor, with 12 months of learning and a three-month end-point assessment.

“There is a big difference between taking a CPC course that lasts two weeks and an apprenticeship that lasts 12 months,” continued Dominika.  “With the apprenticeship, you naturally become more involved in the operations, and I spent time in different parts of the business including the maintenance department, where I saw what happens in an MOT and learnt about specific details, such as the requirements for a brake test.

“I also spent time with the recruitment team and learning new areas of the business was the best part of the apprenticeship. My apprenticeship has opened so many doors to other departments, and what made it so special for me was that as I gained new knowledge, I was able to contextualise it with what I had already learned in my career.”

Logistics UK’s Chief Executive Ben Fletcher said: “Apprenticeships have an increasingly important role to play in helping experienced employees deepen their expertise, gain recognised qualifications and progress within their organisations. With more than half of starters now aged 25 or over, this should help dispel the outdated idea that apprenticeships are only for people beginning their careers.

“For employers, apprenticeships are a powerful way to invest in the future of their business by strengthening capability and developing and retaining talent. Dominika demonstrates what can be achieved when an employee’s existing industry experience is combined with structured workplace learning.”

Logistics UK’s apprenticeships are developed by logistics professionals and range from Level 2 Traffic Coordinators to Level 5 Operations Managers. For more information on these apprenticeships, visit: Logistics UK’s Apprenticeships

Logistics UK is one of the UK’s biggest business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With decarbonisation, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, water and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods. For more information about the organisation and its work, please visit logistics.org.uk