LOGISTICS has always been a male dominated industry.
But as the £1.5billion London Gateway superport prepares to open later this year, owner DP World is looking to cast aside the stereotype that operating machinery and helping move goods is work for men.
Quayside operations at the state-of-the-art port will create up to 2,000 jobs over the next five years, with a further 12,000 being created within the distribution park.
Working in the industry is no longer about brute strength, as advances in technology have opened it up to a far wider range of people.
London Gateway’s huge cranes can be driven by women. A former beauty therapist is one of the port’s recent, female recruits now training as a crane driver, as well as assisting in other port operations.
Young female graduates, such as Hannah Charles, from Benfleet, are also seeing opportunity at the site.
Victoria Tobin, human resources manager at London Gateway, said: “In the past, jobs in the industry have been very manual and required a lot of physical strength.
“But the port has a high level of automation. This makes it accessible to a more diverse population and work will appeal to a greater number of women, more so than in the past.
“It’s really about making women aware of the skills needed to work in the industry. You need an eye for detail, to be calm under pressure and be health and safety conscious.
"We’ve had a number of people make the change in career and take us up on the chance to train them.
“There’s never been a better time for women to be employed within logistics.”
Xavier Woodward, the communications manager at the port, said the keenness for women to apply for roles stems from the aim of creating a diverse work place.
He said: “The quay cranes are some of the world’s largest. We’re enthusiastic about making sure we see not just male drivers, but women too.
“If we get it right, we will see the first quay crane drivers being women.
“We’re looking for enthusiasm and people who want a challenge.
“We’re breaking the mould. There are opportunites here you can’t find anywhere else.”
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