If you’re looking for a secure, lucrative change of career, the transport and logistics market is definitely worth considering. The rise of online shopping has led to a significant increase in demand for deliveries and the transportation of goods and it’s expected to grow even more popular in the not too distant future.
So how can you build a career in the transport and logistics market? Here you’ll discover everything you need to know.
Where do I start?
It does help to have a degree before embarking into the world of transport and logistics. For transportation, employers are usually open to any degree. For logistics, employers typically prefer candidates to have a related degree.
If you don’t have a degree don’t worry, there are other professional qualifications you can achieve to enter the market, such as a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence for those wishing to get into driving a coach, bus or lorry.
Most people start out in a management training scheme with a major company such as Parcels Please Once you’ve reached the end of the training period, you can then choose which area you would like to progress into.
What skills should I have?
As well as professional qualifications, there are numerous skills you’ll need to have in order to thrive in the transportation and logistics sector. The main skills you’ll find useful include:
- Project management
- Problem solving
- People management
- Analytical skills
- Communication
These are just the general skills you’ll need. Depending upon which sector you’re hoping to get into, you’ll also need a number of specialist skills too.
Job opportunities
As the logistics and transportation market is so diverse, there are many different types of jobs available. As well as drivers, warehouse operatives and supply chain management positions, there’s also a demand for engineers. If you wanted to get into logistics engineering, you would need a specialist engineering degree.
Salaries vary greatly depending upon which type of position you enter into, though graduates can expect a starting salary of around £18,000 to £25,000 per year.
Overall, it has never been a better time to get into the transport and logistics market. The pay is good, there’s a lot of job flexibility and variety and it’s one of the few stable careers available these days. If you do want to start your career, you will need some form of professional qualifications and ideally a degree. However, each employer is different and some will be a lot more strict in their requirements than others.
