Tracey Worth spoke STAT, Strategic Transport Apprenticeship Taskforce detail and explained the road logistics stairway from level one to eight, three stream, truck, warehouse and express mail.

There is a qualification  for warehouse, with focus on pallets, fork trucks and storage but there is nothing for the tens of thousands of express sortation operatives who process hub packages as quick as two hours for national platforms using belts, sorters and chutes in a two hour turnaround environment

APC, DPD, Fedex, Hermes, Royal Mail, TNT & Yodel were amongst the nationals at the table to talk trollies, chutes and sortation systems, hand-held scanners, volumetric analysis, working with the belts and tote boxes. IOC chair Carl Lomas chaired and engaged the employers to detail sector terms, bringing a universal platform of knowledge that would fit the whole sector.

Association of education and learning providers AELP were also at the table to talk technical delivery to the sector employers as was Soryah Brown, relationship manager for the IFA to the logistics sector.

Craig Laughton, Yodel,

Having started my career as an apprentice, it’s refreshing to see a group of professionals taking the time out of their busy diaries to invest their time into the future of our industry.

Bronte Scott, Hermes,

Some feedback on yesterday. I think it went well, we must be mindful that the standard needs to be generic for all businesses in the sector, very positive round table and look forward to hearing it’s been signed off.

Institute of Apprenticeships cleared the expression of interest for the sector to develop a full standard for a sortation qualification in April 2018, allocating the code ref ST0753 for the new work. Further meetings of the employer group will take place to define detail on what will become a submission for standard for the express sortation role.

Express delivery / sortation hub operator Level 2

ST0753. EOI approved April 2017

Operative in an express sortation , load and unload skills to conveyor belt, packages in cages, sortation routes, automation systems to silos for re loading. (Nothing is stored in Express delivery, a happy sortation/ hub is empty after the shift cycle, every shift.)