How are we supposed to take care of tomorrow?
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WITH THE GENERAL election behind us, and the new coalition government in place, we now have w face up to economic reality and the prospect of spending cuts in almost every sector.
However, we must not allow the economic downturn to affect a whole generation of young people.
'There can be no doubt that as a nation, as a society and as an industry, we must continue to invest in the education, training and employment of our young people. In fact, I believe we cannot afford not to. In February this year, unemployment among 18to 24-yearolds was more than 17%. while among 16to 17-year-olds, a massive 35% were out of work.
I believe that the government must act now if we are to avoid the prospect of a 'lost generation' and all of the associated social and economic consequences that would come with it.
The transport industry constitutes a key player in both our society and the performance of the economy. Moving people and delivering goods makes the world go round and, employing more than 2.3 million people, it means that our sector ought to be regarded as an attractive and rewarding career option. Strangely, and sadly. that is not always the way. As an industry we have failed to present ourselves as the essential and exciting industry that all of us working in it know it to be.
I believe that we should increase our engagement with key partners in education and training in order to build programmes for schools, colleges and universities to ensure that students arc better aware of the opportunities available in transport and logistics and to know where to go to improve their skills.
In my forthcoming year as president of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. I hope that we can work with our members in order to raise awareness of skills and what they can do for their businesses as well as helping them to understand what is available in terms of programmes and funding.
I intend that we shall work with key education partners to build the training and enhancement programmes that will help develop skilled and enthusiastic people for the transport and logistics industry.
All of us, across the whole of the economy, face very difficult times as we recover from the recession, and the government seeks to reduce the deficit.
Quite rightly prudent management demands that we avoid waste, and maximise efficiency while operating smartly.
But we must also ensure that our employment policies of today serve us well for the future and, hopefully, better times.
We owe it to the current crop of school and college leavers to ensure that they have a rewarding future ahead of them.
I hope that you will look to your own operation to see what you can do. It will not just help the young people themselves and the broader society; it will be good for your business too. •