Transport & Logistics

The transport industry is all about moving things and supplying things, from people and animals to goods and services. Without the transport industry, we wouldn’t be able to get to work in the morning, or fly away on holiday, and international trade wouldn’t exist. This sector is not just about moving things around the world by road, rail, sea or air – it’s also all about managing the supply, demand, distribution and procurement operations too.

Every person and every industry in the world is influenced by, and depends upon, transport and logistics. Consequently, there is a diverse range of careers available in this exciting, fast-paced and ever-changing sector. Trade routes, railway lines, motorways and cycle paths don’t just spring up out of nowhere: a lot of meticulous planning and organisation is required before any route can be constructed. This is where careers in transport management and planning fit in.

Transport operations jobs

Transport operations tend to require a lot of vehicles, machinery and infrastructure (i.e. railway sleepers, overhead wires etc.). Consequently, a wide variety of specialist transport engineers and technicians are needed to put things in place and keep everything maintained and fully functional.

Passenger transport also includes operations (driver, pilot and air crew), route planning, customer service and safety. This is then split into: aviation; bus and coach; light rail, tram and metro services; rail; taxi and private hire; and water transport.

Those with an interest in the environment could make a real impact in the transport industry, for example working with organisations like Transport for London to look at innovative ways to improve their environmental performance over road, rail, bus, river and cycling.

Logistics jobs

Before goods can be transported en masse, they normally need to be stored somewhere. People who work in warehouse, storage and inventory management are essential cogs in the logistics wheel, making sure that the right goods are available and organised before companies export and ship large orders.

Trade routes, railway lines, motorways and cycle paths don’t just spring up out of nowhere: a lot of meticulous planning and organisation is required before any route can be constructed. This is where careers in transport management and planning fit in. Transport and logistics operations tend to require a lot of vehicles, machinery and infrastructure (i.e. railway sleepers, overhead wires etc.). Consequently, a wide variety of specialist transport engineers and technicians are needed to put things in place and keep everything maintained and fully functional.

Environmental jobs

Those working in this side of the sector work to make transport match up to low emissions zones, work in landscape management road networks, work on the sustainability and environmental assessment of transport infrastructure projects and take part in wider environmental management projects, including environmental training, environmental site audits and environmental management system maintenance.