Shipping Committee hears how £7m logistics centre will train tomorrow’s workforce

Shipping Committee Chairman Graham Cross (left) welcomes Sam Whittaker to the Chamber ahead of the meeting.

THERE will be enough jobs to employ everyone in the Humber region as the Estuary continues grow in importance – that was the message to the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce’s Shipping Committee from the Grimsby Institute’s Logistics Training Centre.

The Institute’s Vice Principal of Strategic Projects, Sam Whitaker, said the UK Energy Estuary is a massive area and there are going to be real problems in meeting the demand for skilled jobs in the near future.

By 2020 it is expected that the number of degree level qualified jobs in the area will increase significantly and there is a need to raise employer commitment and investment in skills. There is now a demand-led provision of education, training and skills and a desire to maximise the use of funding to help increase the aspirations of the next generations.

Mr Whitaker said the offshore opportunities would be significant and the five major colleges in the Humber, Hull University and other training providers, are all working to meet that need, while Grimsby Institute is creating a Logistics Training Centre through a £7-million Growth Deal Project, £2-million of which has been raised through a grant from the Humber LEP, with the other £5-million being self-raised finance.

The new centre must reflect industry demand, he told the meeting, and focus on the ports and energy sector, logistics and an ambition to be part of a global centre of excellence.

Neil Watson, from development partner Archomai Ltd, said leading-edge simulators will be at the core of the training and will be able to train people from scratch. The simulators will also be used to upskill experienced employees in new technology and health and safety training in a safe environment.

Mr Whitaker said Grimsby Institute expects work on building the Logistics Hub to commence next summer and it is hoped the new facilities will be fully operational by September 2016.

Mr Watson said the Humber is widely-regarded as the second most difficult river in the world to navigate, yet we don’t do any training here. All the relevant training is done in Tyneside, but they use the Humber for that training, so clearly there is a need for proper training facilities in our area.