Freight Workforce Group

Bringing together government and industry to attract, train and retain talent, improve resilience, and contribute to growth and decarbonisation goals in the freight and logistics sector.

The Department for Transport (DfT) chairs and facilitates the Freight Workforce Group. 

The purpose of the group is to provide strategic coordination and planning on workforce initiatives, helping industry attract, train and retain the right people, thereby improving diversity and resilience. 

The group brings together government officials and industry representatives to address pressing workforce challenges that negatively affect the freight and logistics sector. 

In supporting the vital freight sector, the group aims to contribute to government’s growth and opportunity missions and commitments to improve social mobility and regional equality. 

The group covers road, rail, maritime, and air freight, as well as warehousing and distribution. 

The Freight Workforce Group will provide a work programme focused on: 

  • boosting awareness of freight sector careers and creating clear pathways into, up and across the sector to facilitate attraction and promotion 
  • ensuring training is accessible and fit for purpose in preparing both the current and future workforce to meet freight sector demands and needs 
  • encouraging a culture change across the freight sector, to improve retention 

Responsibilities 

The Freight Workforce Group will take an evidence-based and action-oriented approach. 

The group will maintain an awareness of sector workforce trends and use this to inform the development and delivery of activities aimed at addressing major barriers to recruitment and retention. 

Members of the group will have a collective responsibility to share intelligence and insights on the drivers behind workforce barriers, to identify priority issues, and to devise and provide solutions to these. 

Members will collaborate with other stakeholders as necessary, regularly report progress to the group, and promote the group’s outputs externally to maximise impact and raise awareness of support and other resources for the benefit of the wider industry. 

Membership 

The Freight Workforce Group is chaired by a senior civil servant from DfT. 

Membership of the Freight Workforce Group consists of representatives from the following organisations. Most members are in roles related to skills, careers, training, or human resources. 

Industry 

  • ABE Ledbury 
  • ATL Haulage 
  • CEVA Logistics 
  • Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport UK 
  • DHL 
  • DPD (UK) 
  • Fagan & Whalley 
  • Gregory Distribution 
  • GXO 
  • John Lewis 
  • Law Distribution 
  • Logistics UK 
  • National Skills Academy for Rail 
  • PD Ports 
  • Port Skills and Safety Ltd 
  • Portsmouth International Port 
  • Road to Logistics 
  • Road Haulage Association 
  • Royal Mail 
  • Sainsbury’s 
  • UK Warehousing Association 
  • Unite the Union 
  • Wincanton 
  • X2 

Government 

  • Department for Business and Trade 
  • DfT 
  • Department for Work and Pensions
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