Logistics UK: Logistics leaders call for greater investment in workforce development to tackle future skills challenge

Industry leaders have highlighted the importance of creating stronger routes into logistics, developing leadership capability and increasing investment in workforce development if the sector is to meet future skills challenges.

Speaking at business group Logistics UK’s Learning to Lead: How Workforce Development Creates Opportunity round table, sponsored by Talented People, employers, educators and policymakers discussed how the sector can widen access to careers while ensuring people have opportunities to progress throughout their working lives.

The discussion took place during Learning and Work Institute’s Get the Nation Learning Week (2 – 6 November 2026) and against the backdrop of the anticipated Milburn Review, with participants highlighting the importance of creating opportunities for young people, career changers and those furthest from the labour market. Participants agreed that attracting talent into logistics requires clearer pathways, a greater focus on transferable skills and stronger links between education and employment.

Bethany Windsor, Head of Multimodal and Skills Policy at Logistics UK, who was chairing the discussion said, “A key theme that came through was the need to break down barriers that continue to prevent people from accessing careers in logistics. Perceptions of the sector continue to be a challenge, as do inflexible recruitment practices and a tendency to recruit for the ‘perfect candidate’ rather than recognising potential. Participants also argued that employers can widen access to opportunity by focusing more on aptitude, skills and capability, helping talented individuals enter the sector from a broader range of backgrounds.”

Alongside attracting new entrants, attendees stressed the need to strengthen leadership and management capability across the workforce. Effective line management, mentoring and ongoing development were identified as critical factors in improving retention, supporting progression and boosting productivity. Attendees noted that workforce development should not end once someone secures a role but should continue throughout their career to help individuals and businesses adapt to changing demands.

Research from the Learning and Work Institute suggests that more than three million additional adults would be participating in learning if engagement rates were consistent across all social groups, underlining the importance of widening access to development opportunities throughout working life. Logistics UK has also highlighted growing demand for leadership, management, digital and technical skills, in its own research, as the sector adapts to new technologies and changing ways of working.

There was broad agreement that employers, educators and policymakers must work together to create a more coherent and accessible skills system. Participants called for greater awareness of available funding opportunities, improved coordination between skills programmes and long-term government support to give employers the confidence to invest in workforce development.

“As logistics continues to evolve,” concluded Windsor, “participants agreed that the sector’s long-term success will depend on its ability to attract, develop and retain talent at every stage of a person’s career. There is also a desire for collective action across the sector and participants agreed that no single organisation can address workforce challenges alone. Stronger collaboration between industry, education and government will be essential to create clearer career pathways, develop leadership capability and ensure logistics has the skilled workforce needed for the future.”

Business group Logistics UK champions the logistics sector, the backbone of the UK economy and global trade, providing a unique, authoritative voice for its members. As the only trade association representing the whole industry, it supports more than 22,000 members, operating in road, rail, waterways, sea and air freight, in ports, airports and warehousing, as well as the customers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers. The group delivers industry representation, services and thought leadership to support a sector that is critical to economic growth, employing 8% of the UK workforce, contributing £175 billion in annual GVA and enabling over £1 trillion of international trade. For more information about the organisation and its work, please visit logistics.org.uk