Attracting talented young people to start a career in logistics is an industry wide issue, which Metro has addressed by engaging directly with regional universities and introducing the logistics and supply chain sector to annual cohorts of undergraduates. With the opportunity to experience a wide range of tasks and responsibilities, during a placement year.

The one year, fully-paid, Metro placement is designed to give undergraduates the opportunity to learn more about the practicalities of working at Metro in customer-facing teams and to develop their people skills, as well as helping them build practical knowledge of the supply chain and global logistics.

In learning the challenges our customers face and seeing how we develop the solutions and processes they need, we give undergraduates an engaging workplace experience and hopefully, inspire and nurture the next generation of talent for our client-facing teams.

Having experienced some unique times, Kiran-Sophie Ladva, an English Literature and Politics Student at Aston University, talks about her Metro experience.

"As I have come to the end of a 13-month placement at Metro I thought it would be a great opportunity to write about my experience. With this job being notably opposite to my degree in English Literature and Politics, I began my placement journey feeling anxious, due to the minimal knowledge I had of the industry. 

By working and liaising with plenty of clients, carriers and hauliers, my confidence and knowledge in the industry excelled and flourished, strengthening communication, leadership and organisational skills. Also, this exposure to a diverse range of people allowed me to build strong relationships and friendships, in both work and general life. 

During my placement, global circumstances (i.e. Covid-19 and Brexit) impacted our industry tremendously, meaning I was apart of some of the most stressful situations our industry has faced. Being forced to adapt to new rules and regulations, this pressure has equipped me with vital skills to utilise in my future endeavours. 

Having achieved a 1st-class grade in my placement year, I am truly grateful for everything Metro has provided me with. The training, the variety of skills, the laughter, the stress, the friendships and the heightening in my confidence will impact my future positively. 

Thank you so much, Metro" #placement

Kiran-Sophie Ladva

English Literature and Politics Final Year Student

Metro’s outsourcing services ensure that we can take care of the supply chain so you can focus on your business, with Ben and the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) team being a crucial component in these operations.  

Graduating with a degree in geography, Ben worked in the customer service industry before joining Metro in 2016. He began his career managing freight and customer services for a world leading tyre brand and a key blue chip Metro customer. 

In 2019, Ben joined the BPO team with specific focus on building and sustaining relationships with Metro’s Indian subcontinent team, analysing M-data, and streamlining functions to be outsourced. 

With businesses far and wide having to adapt to the constraints of Covid19, Ben and the BPO team played an integral role in ensuring Metro’s outsourcing services could continue to thrive. They created new I.T solutions to manage functions and troubleshoot issues remotely. 

At the beginning of this year Ben was promoted to supervisor. Resultantly, Ben takes on greater responsibilities including leading weekly briefings with outsource offices, and being the pivotal internal link in informing and updating directors.

Ben recently gave a presentation at the initial Next Gen meeting, pitching about potential improvements and updates to the company’s website and social media. 

To most millennials, the semantics of ‘logistics’ are riddled with outdated stereotypes of a heavy haulier, or warehouse shelf stackers.

The more desirable elements of the industry – of which there are many – are not projected to young people, causing a lack of exposure and knowledge about logistics. 

Luckily, my own perceptions of logistics are clearer than most of my generation. Although I have not directly worked in the field, I have been exposed to logistics my entire life, as my father works in the freight forwarding industry. This places me in a unique position to offer the perspective of a young person who is external to the trade, while still understanding what logistics really is.  

Having a freight forwarder in the family has revealed far more than the technical aspects of logistics. It has illustrated a lifestyle. Yes, the hours can be gruelling and long, with the workload seemingly relentless at times. And although there sometimes appears to be an imbalance between the amount of time spent in the office and at home, the industry does offer good prospects.

Something that has always drawn me to my father’s line of work was watching him travel across the globe. The possibility to experience other cultures and to meet a diverse pool of people through your career is the diamond that shines through the rough, long hours.

And although we get the occasional whinge and whine about the stressful nature of the job, you see a man who is truly passionate about his career, and that passion is infectious.

And there are plenty of opportunities to work in the sector – which is not true of every industry.

Vice president of value-added service for DHL Germany Christiane Beimel said: “Supply chain managers are retiring faster than they can be replaced”; 25 to 33% of supply chain professionals are nearing retirement age.  

So it’s crucial to entice the younger generations into the industry.  The question, is how? 

First and foremost, companies need to educate young people about what logistics really is. To leave the banal label of logistics behind, it is integral to highlight the expansive nature of the field, with its eclectic mix of career paths on offer, ranging from supply chain management to warehouse design, from sales to sailings.  

Secondly, as younger generations begin to define themselves as citizens of the world, it is important to highlight the importance of logistics in helping develop a cosmopolitan society. Logistics is one of the key enablers of globalisation, internationally linking the supplies and demands of the entire world.  Logistics facilitates the fusion of cultures through the movement of different products from different nations.  

And logistics is about co-operation and collaboration, helping to keep the world in order, rather than solely about financial competition. Young people will be drawn into the industry, wanting to brand themselves as enablers of multiculturalism.  

And then there is climate change, a key issue for the young today, and logistics can play a big part.

The environment particularly resonates with millennials. With the transport sector accounting for 25% of the total commercial energy consumed worldwide, supply chain managers are integral for instigating fuel-efficient shipping.   

Finally, there is new hope for logistics in the post-Covid world, as nations rely on freight forwarders to transport essential products, such as PPE and other medical supplies. The consumer typically overlooks how we get our online orders, but residing in these unprecedented times has caused a shift. Young people are now thinking about how their goods arrive, and are becoming more aware of it.

But companies, you have a job to do. To ensure a steady flow of young applicants into the field, it’s crucial that you educate millennials about what it means to work in logistics, and to ensure that the preconception of the heavy haulier or underpaid warehouse worker can at long last become a remnant of the past.  

Written by James Liddell