Bringing in new blood to the transport industry has never been more important, and apprenticeships are an excellent way to recruit, train and retain people of all ages and skill levels.

While 2020 was a difficult year to maintain focus on recruiting and retaining talented people, far-sighted companies see the benefit in keeping the pipeline of apprentices flowing into their businesses strong despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Apprenticeship Levy is often criticised as just another tax on the industry, but there is now a good range of accredited apprenticeships for the logistics sector from driving goods vehicles to supply chain management that complement well-established schemes for workshop technicians.

This award is for the company apprenticeship scheme that can demonstrate it is successfully attracting and retaining high quality recruits who are making a positive contribution to the business and wider industry. It is open to third party and own account transport and logistics operators running 11 or more commercial vehicles and companies associated with this sector such as vehicle manufacturers, rental and leasing firms, CV dealers and repair and maintenance workshops.

Judges will be looking for:

• Well-structured apprenticeship schemes that meet the business’s needs;
• Strong take up of the apprenticeship programme;
• High retention and pass rates;
• A good rate of employment of apprentices once they have completed the scheme.