Jim French, chair of the Trailblazer Group for Transport and Logistics, has expressed frustration at continued delays to the approval of new transport and warehouse management apprenticeships, warning that the sector is not receiving the same level of attention as Skills England’s priority industries.
In a letter to Trailblazer Group members, which was shared with MT, French said the proposed Level 4 Transport Manager apprenticeship, which includes the mandatory Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC), was agreed with the former Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) and its funding level approved on 7 October 2025 before being submitted to the Secretary of State for sign-off.
A separate Level 4 Warehouse Manager apprenticeship, also incorporating the Warehouse Manager CPC, was completed in June 2025 but has since been delayed while Skills England reviews end-point assessments.
French said he had met senior Skills England officials, including deputy chief executive Gemma Marsh, deputy director for delivery and reform Jonathan Mitchell and head of construction, built environment and transport Darren Shaw, to press for progress.
“They apologised for the delay and explained about the restructuring of IfATE and the formation of Skills England and its transfer from DfE to DWP,” he wrote. “They have promised me an answer soon.”
French said he believed the delay extended beyond organisational changes.
“My personal view is that the hold up of the Transport Manager Apprenticeship is not due to a delay in Pat McFadden (Secretary of State for Work and Pensions) signing it off but a restriction on expenditure and a concern in creating additional apprenticeships,” he said.
French added that he had pointed out in the meeting that the transport and logistics sector had contributed around £1.585bn through the Apprenticeship Levy up to 31 March 2026 but had recovered only about one-third of that through apprenticeship funding.
“It is however, evident that because our Sector is not one of Skills England Ten Priority Skills we are not given the same level of attention as a Sector containing those Priority Skills,” he said.
The Apprenticeship Levy, introduced in 2017 which is now known as the Growth and Skills Levy, requires employers with annual payrolls above £3m to contribute 0.5% of their pay bill into apprenticeship funding. While levy-paying employers can draw down funds to pay for approved apprenticeship training, unspent funds expire after 24 months and are returned to the Treasury.
The logistics industry has argued for several years that it pays significantly more into the levy than it is able to reclaim because many of its training needs—including short vocational courses and mandatory licence acquisition—do not qualify for levy funding.
In the letter French also said the sector had so far been excluded from the government’s plans for shorter, more flexible apprenticeship programmes, apart from the option to reduce apprenticeship duration to eight months where employers, training providers and apprentices agree that the required knowledge, skills and behaviours have already been achieved.
He said he had proposed shorter levy-funded programmes for LGV drivers and warehouse operatives.
“I believe a thirteen/sixteen week training module for Warehouse Operatives would provide an ideal opportunity to help solve the skills shortages in our warehouses and also assist in easing the NEETS issue for young people,” he wrote.
French said another option under consideration was a Level 2 logistics foundation apprenticeship, combining elements of existing programmes such as LGV driver, warehouse operative and traffic operator apprenticeships to give new entrants broader exposure to careers in the sector before specialising.
He acknowledged, however, that this approach could increase the overall time needed before recruits were fully qualified.
French said he would continue to lobby Skills England while seeking views from employers and training providers on the preferred direction for future apprenticeship development.
“I can assure you I will continue to endeavour to strive for what I believe to be the best for our Sector,” he said.
MT’s request for comment from Skills England has yet to receive a response.
