Owner of the Port of Liverpool says the ports and logistics sector will need an extra 28,000 people in the next 12 years the company is reaching out to schools to explain the opportunities. Tony McDonough reports

Port of Liverpool owner Peel Ports is to go out to schools across the city region to promote careers in the maritime and logistics sector.

The company, which has just opened its £400m Liverpool2 deep water port terminal, estimates the sector in Merseyside will employ 62,000 by 2030 – a huge increase on the current 34,000.

Peel has now launched its Business on the Move project at Hugh Baird College’s Port Academy Liverpool building, to inspire and encourage young people to consider a career in logistics.

A number of school visits will be made by staff at Peel Ports who will involve children from ages nine to 19 in a board game called Business on the Move.

The aim of the interactive game is to teach young people about the end-to-end supply chain by challenging them to move goods from China to the UK via the Port of Liverpool, in the most cost and time efficient way via road, rail and water freight.

It features some of the largest businesses in the UK such as B&M and Typhoo Tea, who are based in Merseyside and import significant volumes of goods and raw materials through the Port of Liverpool.

Understanding how goods move around the world and end up in our shops and factories is a valuable insight into the modern economy, and Peel says Business on the Move is a simple and relevant way of helping to achieve this.

Amanda Willis, group head of HR at Peel Ports Group, said: “Many young people do not consider the logistics sector as a career option despite the diverse range of roles that working within the sector can offer.

“The plan is that projects like this will highlight how supply chains work and help increase interest in careers such as engineering, where a skills shortage exists, which will ultimately increase the number of talented people working in our industry.”