Explore: Food production

Transport Manager
Vestey Holdings

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I’m Silvija,

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I’m a transport manager at Donald Russell. The company is based

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in north east Scotland, just outside Aberdeen.

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Donald Russell is a part of Vestey.

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Vestey is a group of businesses supplying

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food worldwide.

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My day-to-day job

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as a transport manager is ensuring

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that the goods are delivered in a timely manner to our customers.

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So it has a direct to consumer, which is, as I say, direct to the customer,

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trade business, which is the direct to the hotels and restaurants,

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and the third part of business is export.

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So we’re exporting it outside of the UK, mainly to Germany,

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Switzerland, Sweden and a bit of Hong Kong.

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The best thing it would be that you’ve got to think on the spot, really.

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The worst, I think is the uncontrollable because weather or anything

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like, you know, vehicle breakdowns, there’s not much that you can do about it.

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So communication is like

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it is quite important when speaking with the couriers,

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when we have any sort of deals or negotiations,

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and any problems occurring.

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Maths is very useful. I’d say

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languages would be another great subject

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to take on and embrace.

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For me being Lithuanian originally,

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I took English at school

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as a second language and it helped me a lot.

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I did go to school in Lithuania

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and it is slightly different, I would say. I loved school

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but I was more turned into the –

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like science, maths, that sort of side.

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I wanted to go onto uni and study medicine

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at the time but

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didn’t put enough work in my final exams,

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but I ended up studying chemistry, which was really interesting

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Like I always knew that I

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wanted to live abroad so after I finished university in Lithuania,

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I lived and worked three years in Ireland

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and I worked in a hotel.

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My family moved here, so my mum and my sister,

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that’s how I kind of followed them just to be together,

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and yeah, kind of developed from there.

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I joined Vestey Foods ten years ago and started in the butchery

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as a packer, packing meat for the dispatchers.

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And I have been promoted throughout the years

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in different departments and now I’m

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a transport manager.

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The advice that I would give to

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other younger people and probably myself as like a younger myself,

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was take every opportunity

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you’re given, I would say, don’t

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fix yourself onto one thing.

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If that doesn’t work, there’s always other possibilities.

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So you’ve got to do what makes you happy.

“Take every opportunity you’re given, don’t fix yourself onto one thing.” Silvija grew up in Lithuania and studied for a chemistry degree. She then lived and worked in Ireland, before joining her mum and sister in Scotland where she got a job in the butchery at a fine food supply company. After a variety of promotions into different roles, she now works as a transport manager, ensuring goods are delivered to customers around the world.

More information about Managers and directors in transport and distribution

Data powered by LMI For All

£44,720

average salary

The UK average salary is £29,813

average weekly hours

There are 37.5 hours in the average working week

76% male

24% female

The UK workforce is 47% female and 53% male

Future employment

Future employment?

Description

? Managers and directors in transport and distribution plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the activities and resources necessary for the safe, efficient and economic movement of passengers and freight by road, rail, sea and air transport.

Qualifications

Candidates are recruited with a variety of academic qualifications and/or with relevant experience. Entrants to management trainee schemes in logistics offered by larger companies will require GCSEs/S grades, A levels/H grades, a degree or other equivalent qualifications. Off- and on-the-job training is provided. Professional qualifications are available. Legislation of the European Union requires all transport managers to hold a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC). NVQs/SVQs in a number of relevant areas including supply chain and operations management are available at Levels 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Tasks

Plans the optimum utilisation of staff and operating equipment, and co-ordinates maintenance activities to ensure least possible disruption to services;
Examines traffic reports, load patterns, traffic receipts and other data and revises transport services or freight rates accordingly;
Directs the movement, handling and storage of freight in transit, and reviews space utilisation, staffing and distribution expenditure to determine future distribution policies;
Ensures that regulations regarding hours of work, the licensing of crews and transport equipment, the operational safety and efficiency of equipment, the insurance of vehicles and other statutory regulations are complied with;
Ensures that harbour channels and berths are maintained and liaises with ship owners, crew, customs officials, dock and harbour staff to arrange entry, berthing and servicing of ships;
Supervises day-to-day activities in a railway station;
Arranges for maintenance of airport runways and buildings, liaises with fuel and catering crews to ensure adequate supplies and resolves any complaints and problems raised by airport users.