Peterborough logistics firms at sharp end of national labour shortage, according to a new survey

A new survey has found that Peterborough is one of the worst hit areas for skills shortages in the transport and logistics industry.

A league table of cities hit by the recruitment challenges and based on vacancies on a single day - February 21 - ranks Peterborough 14th out 20 places with 77 unfilled vacancies.

London tops the list for the highest number of unfilled vacancies at 233, followed by Bristol with 219 roles available, Birmingham (188) and Northampton (146). Derby with 69 vacancies was in 20th place.

Rob Hodgson, E-commerce fulfilment expert at order management software provider Mintsoft, which compiled the table, said: “Anyone who works in the industry knows how difficult it’s become to recruit operatives but our data sheds light on the regional discrepancies.

“Competition for skills is particularly acute in Peterborough, making it difficult for businesses to meet demand and protect margins.”

But the extent of the problem has been queried by city business leaders who say Peterborough’s buoyant logistics sector has a solid supply of recruits.

And that seems to be borne out by internet retailer Amazon which across last year received more than 20,000 applications for 4,000 vacancies at its Peterborough sites.

Logistics and transport is one of Greater Peterborough’s largest sectors with 2,720 businesses employing 21,000 people.

The city is also home to the successful 180 acre Gateway Peterborough distribution and manufacturing park, which is full and home to companies such as Coloplast, Amazon, Kingsley Beverages, DSV Logistics, URBN, Yearsley Group, E-Leather, Smart Garden and DPD.

Tom Hennessy, chief executive of economic development company Opportunity Peterborough, said: “Peterborough’s location, affordable costs, and skilled workforce has made it a hugely successful logistics hub.

“We have triple the density of transport and storage businesses compared to the UK average and the proportion of the workforce employed in the sector is around 50 per cent higher than averages for the East and Great Britain.

He said: “As the study shows, the explosion in logistics over the last two years has created a challenge for the sector at a national level.

“However, given the prevalence of the industry in Peterborough, these figures suggest employers have a solid labour supply.

Mr Hennessy added: “There are retraining schemes addressing the labour shortages in this sector specifically.

“As the city’s economic development company I’d urge any Peterborough business with concerns about labour supply or workforce development to get in touch with Opportunity Peterborough so we can connect them to relevant support.”

Clare Bottle, chief executive of the UK Warehousing Association, said: “Today’s market is tougher than ever before for the warehousing sector.

“In light of the failure of Government to recognise or even mention the role of warehousing and logistics in last month’s Levelling Up white paper, this research is particularly timely.”

“A recent poll of our members confirmed that labour shortages are the number one concern for 2022.”

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