Promoting and supporting our employees individually is particularly important to us, as the recruitment, promotion and retention of qualified specialists and young talent is crucial for the success of BLG LOGISTICS. As such, the Human Resources Corporate Department pursues this with the highest priority and works closely with HR business partners and training or site managers to support employees at the various sites with questions or in conflict situations. Works councils are also available to discuss these topics at any time.
Success by fostering young talent
Behind every service we provide to our customers on a daily basis are employees whose commitment is the key to our high quality and reliability. Our success shows that our approach works: we support our junior employees from the very first day of their training, give them the necessary tools and teach them our company values. We offer various training programs, such as to qualify as warehouse logistics specialists, specialist warehouse operators, industrial or office clerks and business administration specialists for forwarding and logistics services, mechatronic technicians and IT specialists. In addition, we offer two dual bachelor programs in business administration with a focus on logistics and computer science. In the reporting year, we employed a total of 207 trainees – 58 in the technical-trade sector and 149 in the commercial sector. This corresponds to a trainee ratio of 2.3 percent.
Number of trainees at BLG LOGISTICS
In view of the overall social challenge posed by the shortage of young talent, we have set an annual trainee ratio of at least 2 percent as part of our new sustainability goals from 2025 – a target we exceeded in the reporting year.
With recruitment campaigns oriented to specific target audiences on various social media channels, participation in student fairs, training days and the offer of student internships, we want to be attractive to newcomers and enthuse young talent about a career at BLG LOGISTICS. In line with our company guarantee, we again made all qualified graduates an offer of employment in 2024. At the Bremen site, 61 per cent of our junior staff were taken on with a permanent employment contract or started a dual degree program within BLG LOGISTICS, among others.
In addition, we continued the support program already established for existing employees to become qualified as specialists in warehouse logistics. In 2024, 23 employees completed this full-time course within 67 training days. The Federal Employment Agency helped by paying the course fees and a large part of the leave of absence costs.
Due to the continuing high demand for new employees, we further strengthened our marketing strategies in social recruitment and advertised vacancies through funnels in social networks. The aim of social recruiting is to make the application process as lean as possible and to quickly and efficiently find the most suitable applicants for open positions. In 2024, for example, we had more than 330 applications and some resulting hires just at BLG AutoTransport GmbH & Co. KG and BLG Cargo Logistics GmbH.
Active sourcing with direct contact with candidates, introduced as a pilot project in 2021 and initially aimed only at IT professionals, was further expanded. In 2024, active sourcing was anchored within a department with successful recruitment. Platforms such as LinkedIn and Xing play a central role in active sourcing in order to specifically target skilled workers and actively counteract the skilled worker shortage.
In addition, we are building networks to create relationships and to inspire and attract people to the logistics industry and BLG LOGISTICS in the long term. We laid the foundation for this at the “Werder Karriere Tach” (Werder career day). As a partner of the Werder Bremen club, we had the opportunity to chat and network with those just kicking off their careers, as well as interns and working students.
Job opportunities in logistics
In order to attract automotive mechatronic technicians and drivers, BLG AutoTransport entered into a partnership with the head of a German language school in Casablanca in 2024. They pass along suitable candidates and trainees who then get further qualified at BLG. In 2024, not only was it possible for us to fill important positions in the workshop this way, but candidates were also put on an accelerated basic qualification program, so they can then be employed as drivers for car transporters after completion. This cooperation will continue into 2025.
Continuous professional development
We help our employees at every stage of their professional careers with tailored development offers. Regardless of where they are in their career, we offer them the opportunity to continually develop. In the reporting year, we organized more than 87,000 hours of training – both in classroom formats and as webinars and blended learning courses – to give participants more flexibility in terms of time and place.
Training hours per employee
Combined, the Human Resources Department and operating divisions were able to deliver 9.8 hours of training per employee, meaning the target of at least 5.5 centrally recorded training hours was significantly exceeded. This target figure was integrated into quarterly reporting to the Board of Management and senior executives in the reporting year, for targeted management.
In 2024, the Tutorize learning management system was significantly expanded and the integration of BLG AutoTerminal Bremerhaven into Tutorize went particularly well. The system now offers more than 135 online training courses, ranging from mandatory regulatory training to courses for professional and soft skills. In 2024, a total of 3,006 hours of fully digital and independent learning was carried out in Tutorize, which adds up to 375 training days.
Together with our cooperation partners ma-co and ver.di, the Central Association of German Seaport Operators (ZDS), Hamburger Hafen und Logistik GmbH (HHLA) and an IT partner, we launched the “PortSkill 4.0” joint project at the end of 2021, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport. The overarching objective of the project is to make German port operations fit for the future through modern qualification concepts and to specifically prepare the workforce for the requirements of digital transformation. The focus is on the development of innovative learning methods and environments that accompany and support the change from traditional work processes to highly-automated, digitized activities. This year, a major milestone has been reached: we held the soft opening of the digital training center at the Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) in Hamburg, where the first training concepts were presented and demonstrated, including training courses on the use of AI, robotics and remote control technology. The research project, which runs until the end of 2025, forms a good basis for future developments and changes in operational port work, the directly associated administration and the resulting adjustments to qualification requirements.
Since 2022, we have been advising and supporting the SMALO – Smart Learning in Logistics project through our involvement on the advisory board. In 2024, the project was formally completed at the C3 logistics center. Among other things, a SMALO app was developed over the course of the project, which enables a precise search for further training opportunities in logistics and provides innovative approaches to target audience orientation and learning support.
Developing management in-house
Through our established Junior Management Program (JMP) and the specialist program we launched in 2023, we recruit qualified employees from among our own ranks, as well as externally, and prepare them for managerial roles and specialist career paths. Over two years, the trainees go through various stations at BLG LOGISTICS and take part in workshops that cover topics such as communication and conflict resolution. The new rounds of both programs began in May 2023, with four participants on the JMP program and five on the specialist program.
In 2024, Human Resources and Organizational Development arranged 59 leadership training events and a total of 537 people took part. There was a special focus once again on our “Take the Lead” management program. This year’s leadership workshop, which took place as one-day in-person event, was supplemented by “mind triggers” (short online learning units) and two-hour formats for virtual exchange. It was entitled “New Leadership – Management in Times of Change” and provided participants with inspiration on the current challenges faced by leaders in the age of digital transformation. In addition, two special events for new managers were held this year under the name Welcome@Leadership BLG. Over the course of two days, 50 new managers dealt with managerial responsibility at BLG LOGISTICS.
In the CONTRACT Division, we established a development path named “From employee to regional manager” several years ago. In March 2024, the first training program for division management level was successfully completed. At the same time, the 24-month programs for manager operations and regional management came to an end with six and eight participants graduating respectively. In June 2024, the training program to become a coordinator in the CONTRACT unit got underway with 22 employees taking part. They received various training courses in order to be able to act in the best way possible in their current or future role as coordinator.
Further development through individual feedback
So we can support our employees in their individual further development, our senior executives hold employee appraisals once a year. Performance is evaluated against defined criteria and an assessment of their potential is carried out. On this basis, individual development plans are drawn up with employees, and these also form the basis for selecting participants for our qualification programs. The appraisal meeting and its documentation can be carried out using Tutorize if desired – an option that is becoming more and more accepted. Since the platform was launched, 3,232 potential discussions and appraisals have been conducted using Tutorize, and just under 1,000 of them in 2024.