Bibby Distribution, has teamed up with Fairbridge, a national charity supporting disadvantaged young people aged 13-25, to offer a group in North Manchester a helping hand up the career ladder.
Volunteers from Bibby Distribution hosted a learning day for the group of youngsters to give an insight into the wider career options available within the distribution industry including warehousing, driving, marketing and office support. Bibby Distribution's Chief Executive Iain Speak began the day with a dynamic on the logistics sector and supply chain, emphasising how the industry reaches out and touches everyday items.
The young people hadn't really considered where things come from and how they get into the shops, but following Iain's explanations and a tour of the company's Heywood distribution centre, their understanding had greatly increased.
Iain Speak says: "The distribution industry is a hugely important one, providing goods and services that support so much of our day-to-day life. From buying our weekly shop, to getting the car repaired, we all rely on an efficient distribution service. However, there is still a real lack of understanding as to all the different processes that are involved and how people can follow a rewarding career path within the industry.
"Companies such as Bibby Distribution offer a great source of employment and opportunity and with training initiatives and support available, young people with the right amount of ambition can really go far."
Over one million young people in the UK are NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and the number is not going down despite the government's attempts to address the problem. In the last ten years alone, the number of NEETs aged 16 to 24 has risen by 15 per cent.
Compared to their peers, today's NEETs are 22 times more likely to give birth under the age of 18, 20 times more likely to commit a crime, 50 per cent more likely to be in poor health and 60 per cent more likely to be involved in drugs.
Fairbridge operations manager Dan Driver says: "By working with companies such as Bibby Distribution, we are able to offer young people first hand experience of working life, showing that it doesn't have to be about sitting behind a desk.
"Visiting companies and seeing first-hand how they can fit within a team, really helps to raise the aspirations of the young people that we work with, ultimately helping them to take a step back from the negative aspects that they face and make an informed choice about their career".
www.bibbydist.co.uk