Posted: 18/11/09
Logistics Academy East Midlands opens at college
The East Midlands regional hub of the Logistics Academy launched last week at the Kirkby-in-Ashfield campus of West Nottinghamshire College.
The Academy, which is set to boost access to national skills within the logistics industry, was officially opened by deputy director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), John Cridland CBE.
It is the sixth of nine hubs currently being established across England to provide quality, industry-relevant training and learning programmes to employers in the logistics sector while helping businesses to up-skill their staff to remain competitive in the current economic climate.
The Logistiocs Academy East Midlands will deliver quality-assured services to the sector though a regional “hub and spoke” structure that has been well received in East Midlands and elsewhere.
Run by a consortium of businesses, universities, further education colleges and private training suppliers, the Academy is led by West Nottinghamshire College and Lincolnshire-based Denby Transport Ltd, with support from Skills for Logistics, the sector skills council for the freight logistics industries.
It will build on the college’s delivery of logistics training while the partnership with Denby Transport will draw on the company's 80 years of expertise in logistics, warehousing and third-party driver training.
The Academy – which will be managed by the college’s logistics centre co-ordinator, Craig Done – will act as a place where employers can get fast access to a regional resource of specialist information, advice and guidance on skills development solutions.
West Nottinghamshire College principal and chief executive, Asha Khemka OBE, welcomed the development of the Academy. She said: “Logistics is one of the key industries keeping the UK economy afloat and the introduction of the Logistics Academy East Midlands is a welcome development for this region.
"We look forward to working closely with Skills for Logistics and Denby Transport to take the college’s and the region’s logistics provision to even greater heights. We are confident the Academy will be a standard-bearer for this thriving industry and an employer-led centre of excellence.”
During the opening ceremony, John Cridland CBE said: “It’s a very proud moment to see this Academy open and we’re celebrating a major achievement for West Nottinghamshire College today. This whole facility has a sense of excitement, with the students at study in this magnificent building.
"The Academy will help to strengthen the economy in this area and will bring partners, students, employers and the public sector together. Logistics is the glue which holds modern businesses together.”
Philip Goodwin, Skills for Logistics’ regional manager for the East Midlands, added: “Logistics is at the heart of the UK economy, with the East Midlands being the logistics hub of the country. Employing 10% of the region's workforce, the establishment of the Logistics Academy East Midlands is vital in terms of skills development for the sector.
"Led by the skills and training needs of logistics employers, the Academy will ensure relevance and quality of training provision that will help raise the profile of the sector as one with great career opportunities and a high level of professionalism.”
Employers and individuals interested in finding out about training, qualifications and other skills issues through the Logistics Academy East Midlands should contact Craig Done at craig.done@wnc.ac.uk or call 07989315917 for further information.
Training providers in the logistics sector that are interested in delivering quality skills development solutions as an approved supplier to the Academy should also contact Craig for details of the application process.
