2022 is gearing up to be an exciting time for transportation and logistics companies, as the industry finds itself adapting to a number of new challenges and trends that are heading their way. From the impact of the COVID pandemic, to the rippling effect of Brexit, as well as the rapid expansion of ecommerce, the face of transport and logistics as we know is about to change.

With nationwide lockdowns forcing shops to shut their doors, consumers turned to delivery services and ecommerce for convenience. In fact, 61.9% of all retail sales in May 2020 were online, almost double from what they were in May of the previous year. Though this massive increase in online sales was unprecedented at the time, online shopping appears to be here to stay, spurred on by the ongoing pandemic as well as the rise in remote working.

Of course, this increase in online sales means more job opportunities for workers across the logistics and transport supply chain – from warehouse operators to forklift drivers. Filling these positions, however, has proven to be challenging, leading to what is being considered a serious labor shortage in the industry. Indeed, with Brexit discouraging EU workers, and even causing many of them to exit the country, the future is looking grim, with the Freight Transport Association estimating the current deficit of drivers to be almost at 60,000.

The need for the Transport and Logistics industry to recruit and retain talent is of paramount importance. In an effort to tackle these ongoing labor shortages, the UK government is relaxing immigration rules and introducing a temporary visa scheme, helping to ease up supply chain issues, particularly in the run up to the holidays. This will include up to 5,000 HGV drivers who are not otherwise eligible to work in the UK under the Skilled Workers Visa, as well as the ongoing Skilled Workers program which has proven to be highly popular with large numbers of skilled Filipino workers seeking employment in the UK.

Filipino workers will need a UK visa as well as a local work permit, a simple procedure that allows them to only work for the employer who hired them, as well as a working knowledge of the English language.