APPENDIX 1

Atlantic Gateway

Major Projects and future Career Opportunities

First Draft

May 2014

Background

The Atlantic Gateway is an area of the UK where great economic change and opportunity are beginning to take hold. The Atlantic Gateway which stretches from the start of the Mersey Estuary, along the Ship Canal and into Greater Manchester, is a place which is seeing transformational projects being designed and implemented.

These major development opportunities currently being advanced along the Atlantic Gateway will create opportunities for new jobs and new career opportunities.

The changes are likely to mean that demand will emerge for new skills, and new career opportunities will exist for the benefit of a wider pool of residents. Recognising the nature of these new opportunities, and reviewing the type of skills and attributes required to secure these new roles, should form a key part of planning the future provision of skills training, careers advice, and should shape how individuals make choices about their own learning.

For students making choices about which options they take during their secondary education (11-18) and the choices that face them for their tertiary education (18+) it is important they consider how those choices can influence their future choice of occupation.

It is apparent that a wide number of opportunities will open up for those with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) skills and qualifications.

Equally, a wide range of semi-skilled and customer facing roles will also become available as new development takes place.

There are major growth areas along the Atlantic Gateway, and where there is growth there are increased opportunities for employment.

The Key Project Factsheets

1.Airport related opportunities in the Atlantic Gateway

Manchester Airport

Manchester Airport Enterprise Zone

Liverpool Airport

World Cargo Centre LJLA

2.Port related opportunities in the Atlantic Gateway

Port of Liverpool Atlantic Terminal

Port Wirral

Port Bridgewater

Ellesmere Port Docks

Port Salford

3.Opportunities in the Enterprise Zones in the Atlantic Gateway

Wirral Waters Enterprise Zone

Liverpool Waters Enterprise Zone

Liverpool City Enterprise Zone

Daresbury Enterprise Zone

4.Opportunities in Logistics in the Atlantic Gateway

3MG

Omega

5.Opportunities in the Media and Digital in the Atlantic Gateway

6.Opportunities in building and maintaining new infrastructure in the Atlantic Gateway (road, rail, housing, commercial development)

Factsheet 1Airport Growth

The North West has a large and important aviation sector. The two principal North West Airports, Manchester and Liverpool, represent, by a clear distance, the second largest concentration of airport activity outside of the South East.

Both airports are expected to grow over the next ten years, and not only is the level of flight activity likely to increase, the opportunities to create economic activity on sites around the airports are significant.

Twenty years ago Manchester Airports principal business was as a base for charter airlines, who flew people away on holidays. The mix at the airport has radically changed with a big increase in scheduled services, usually daily, to a mix of key business and leisure destinations worldwide.

Manchester Airport has the largest global flight network of any UK airport outside of London. It has several daily transatlantic flights directly serving key business hubs such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Atlanta, as well as connection to key leisure destinations of Orlando and Las Vegas.

The Airport has also built connectivity to key middle-eastern hubs, with three daily flights to Dubai, as well as services to Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Qatar. There are daily flights to all major European business hubs, such as Amsterdam, Paris and Zurich.

It has been announced recently that Cathay Pacific will start direct flights to Hong Kong from December 2014. It is estimated that the addition of just this one new route will create 200 new jobs. There are strong prospects for further new routes to growing global business hubs to open up, such as flights to mainland China.

It is likely that Manchester Airport will continue to grow its international flights roster over the next twenty years, especially as new generations of jets, such as Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 jets make new long-haul routes increasingly viable. Changes made to Air Passenger Duty in the March 2014 budget will also contribute to an increase in new long-haul routes as the reduced tax makes new routes increasingly viable to airlines.

Manchester Airport also still retains a very large ‘charter’ market, flights designed specifically for the leisure sector. Many of these operators, such as Thomson and Thomas Cook have a base at the airport, and hire Manchester based flight and cabin staff.

Liverpool Airport is an important hub for the two key low cost carriers in the UK, Easy Jet and Ryan Air. The two airlines service a large and varied range of European destinations. The airlines both have strong growth plans, with new aircraft on order, and are likely to base new aircraft at both Manchester and Liverpool airports.

The on-going increase in flights will create a future on-going demand for people to undertake roles related to airport growth. This includes the wide range of aviation related roles from pilots, airport operations, flight crew, dispatchers, immigration, air traffic controllers, baggage handling and check-in staff. But it also increases the number of roles in wider activities, such as airport retail, hotel and hospitality related careers, various driving jobs and entry level roles such as security.

Careers Box 1: Customer Facing Roles
There are a number of different airport related roles where language skills can make an important difference. Key customer facing roles both at the airport and in surrounding facilities such as hotels, value potential employees who can speak a second language. Key European business languages such as Spanish, French and German are valuable, other global languages such as Mandarin, Arabic and Hindi may become increasingly sought after.

Airports increasingly resemble 24 hour cities, with activity going on around the clock. This will support a wide number of roles which require shift working. Whilst not for everyone, shift work often offers a higher level of pay, and some extra flexibilities traditional 9-5pm contracts don’t.

The Airports will typically support a number of management roles, Manchester Airport runs a graduate scheme. This allows people to progress into senior roles in the operational management of the Airport. The Airport has to manage complex commercial relationships with retailers, car park operators and hotel operators, these all require higher level business and commercial skills.

The Airports also have teams of people whose job it is to promote the airport to airlines that don’t currently fly to Manchester or Liverpool. The people working in these teams have to assemble business and economic cases to present to airlines on the potential for creating a profitable new route. The skills required for these types of roles include economics, statistics and business planning.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport Future Growth

Liverpool Airport has started to develop its international connections and is an expanding airport. Its expansion plans include the creation of 5,600 jobs over the next twenty years with a focus on a new transport corridor and World Cargo Centre.

The addition of a freight business at the Airport will increase the number of distribution and logistics businesses that will cluster in the vicinity of the airport. This will continue to open out career opportunities in the logistics sector (see Career Box XX)

Careers Box 2 : Airport Careers
Role / Locations / Education and Experience
Immigration Officer / Liverpool Airport
Manchester Airport
Port of Liverpool
Cruise Liner Terminal / - No specific requirements
- Will need to pass a written test to demonstrate decision making skills
- Speaking a second language is a benefit
Passenger Handling Agent / Liverpool Airport
Manchester Airport
Cruise Liner Terminal / - Educated to GCSE level in English and mathematics
- Preference for a foreign European language
- Qualifications in travel and tourism are helpful
- IT literate
Pilot / Manchester Airport
Liverpool Airport / - Minimum 5 GCSE grade A-C in English, maths and science
- Minimum of 2 A Levels, preferably in maths and physics
- Higher Education, preferably in scientific or aeronautic areas
- Some experience in aviation is helpful (such as membership of the Air Training Corps)
Cabin Crew / Manchester Airport
Liverpool Airport / - Entry levels vary between different airlines, usual minimum of 3-5 GCSE’s
- A foreign language is a definite advantage
- First aid certificate
- Must have a valid passport
Trainee Firefighter / Manchester Airport
Liverpool Airport / - Good general education including GCSE in English and Maths
- Full clean driving license – held for six months
- Some experience of working in a team environment
Terminal Maintenance Engineers / Liverpool Airport
Manchester Airport / - Most companies require you to be a minimum of 18 years old
- To become an engineer an Apprenticeship, City and Guilds or ONC is required
Air Traffic Controller / Liverpool Airport
Manchester Airport / - Minimum requirement is 5 GCSE’s (a-C) including English and Mathematics
- 2 ‘A’ Levels, or a GNVQ Advanced Level
- A degree in a maths or science related field is an advantage
Aviation Security Officer / Liverpool Airport
Manchester Airport / - Good general education
- Full and clean driving license
- Previous history of customer service is helpful
Airport Operations
- Ground Services
- Airport Operations / Liverpool Airport
Manchester Airport / - 5 GCSE’s including maths and English
- Experience of working in an operational environment
- Experience of working in shifts is an advantage
Airport Hotels + Parking
Transfer Buses / Airport City Mcr
Liverpool Airport / - To operate larger buses will require a license for PCV (passenger Carrying Vehicles)
- Commercial license can cost up to £1,000 to obtain
- Must be 18 and hold a full UK car license
- Must pass a theory and practical test
- Have to renew and pass medical test every 5 years

Factsheet 2Port Growth

The Port and Maritime sectors, since the time of the industrial revolution, have always been of particular important to the north-west of England. At the start of the 20th century, Liverpool was the most important Port in the British Empire, and was the home to one seventh of the worlds shipping fleet.

In the 21st century Ports play a still vital but different role in world trade . In an era of globalisation, where goods are manufactured and produced in all continents of the world, the role of container ships and Ports that host them has become ever more important.

Whereas once Ports largely managed the importation of ‘bulk goods’, raw materials such as coal or grain, now they are increasingly the means for shipping higher value consumer goods and products. The method for shipping is ‘containers’, there are an estimated 17 million containers in use in the world, and the largest container ships (Maersk Line a global shipping company with a base in Liverpool recently took delivery of a new generation of container ship capable of carrying 18,200 20ft containers) in the world will soon be able to make stops in Liverpool. This is directly related to the construction of a new in-river berth.

The Atlantic Gateway area is in a strong position to capitalise on this shift in global markets to expand its port operations and develop a more integrated transport network with the Port of Liverpool, Port of Salford, Port Warrington and Port Wirral at its core. The development of the port network is a major priority for Atlantic Gateway and provides an opportunity to

  • Attract significant business investment into the area;
  • Increase trade volumes in and out of the Port of Liverpool;
  • Substantially reduce freight transport costs;
  • Reduce road freight and carbon emissions;
  • Create a substantial number of port centric jobs; and
  • Increase the ability of Atlantic Gateway businesses to compete internationally.

SuperPort

Super Port is the term sometimes used to describe the combined Port infrastructure in the region. The region’s £1.8bn SuperPort investment plans are predicted to create 20,000 jobs and £6.1bn in GVA by 2020 and a further 8,000 jobs by 2030 through major infrastructure projects.

The Port of Liverpool

The Port of Liverpool (also known as Port Seaforth) is one of the most significant Port operations in the UK.

There are ambitious plans being implemented to further expand the Port. The construction of a new terminal, called Liverpool 2, will allow the worlds largest container ships to call into Liverpool. The proposals will have a national impact, most goods for north of England markets reach the north of England via Ports in the South, the implementation of ‘Liverpool 2’ will change this.

This expansion will have a number of impacts;

-It will create additional visits from container ships, increasing the volume of activity at the Port and the number of jobs at the Port

-It will create a significant supply of new jobs in the logistics and distribution sectors

-It will create additional Port related opportunities along the Manchester Ship Canal, as goods are trans-shipped onto smaller vessels to new Port developments further inland

This new terminal will almost double the capacity of the existing operations and will enable faster turnaround of vessels in and out of the facility. It is anticipated that the new terminal will create some 6,000 jobs, cost £300m and will establish the Atlantic Gateway as a major destination for manufacturers and retailers.

The Port of Garston

There is a large Port facility at Garston. The Port of Garston is a mixed facility, which includes both bulk goods and containers. There is also a bulk scrap export facility in the Port.

Future Port Development Opportunities

There are proposals for a number of new Port Developments in the Mersey Estuary and along the length of the Manchester Ship Canal. These will be built out over a number of years, the speed at which they are constructed will be dependent upon the level and timing of growth of demand for goods imported by container.

Port Salford

Port Salford will play a critical part in the movement of freight to and from the Seaforth terminal by short sea shipping, removing freight from local road and rail networks.

The Port will also be a major logistics hub in its own right without the growth of the Port of Liverpool due to its tri-modal networks (road, rail and inland port), specialist warehousing facilities and loading cranes.

It is estimated that the project will cost £140m, including an extensive road development scheme, and will create more than 4,000 jobs.

Port Warrington

The Port Warrington site is close to the M56 and is rail serviced. It has some existing warehousing on site, and has the capability to be expanded.

Port Bridgewater

The Port Bridgewater site is close to the Port Wirral site. It is a very large tract of brownfield land, it can accommodate over 1 million square foot of logistics space.

Port Wirral

The site identified for Port Wirral is between Junction 6 and 7 of the M53 motorway, it is directly alongside the Manchester Ship Canal. The site also has the capability to be serviced by a rail service, which would offer multi-modal (an ability to move goods by sea road or rail).

Port Warrington

Warrington is located near to the Manchester Ship Canal with considerable opportunities to not only develop the port facilities with important supply chain implications for existing and new businesses but also to develop the wider area linking it through to the town centre. Other port developments are in various stages of development such as Port Wirral, Port Ince and Port Bridgewater

Careers Box 3: Career Opportunities at the Port
There are a wide range of career opportunities associated with the development of Port facilities, the main opportunities can be split between four principal areas. The Harbour Master, the Port Manager, the Port Engineer and the Traffic Manager.
The Harbour Master is responsible for handling the movement of shipping within the Port. There are a number of different career points from a Maritime Operative (which requires an NVQ2) and then more senior roles of Maritime Team Leader, Maritime Pilot. There are qualifications that can be undertaken for these roles, a Foundation Degree/Diploma in Port Management and a Harbour Master Certificate.
The Port Manager is responsible for the general operational management of the Port. There are a number of career points leading up to the role of Harbour Manager. There are roles as General Operatives, and then Team Leader and Supervisory roles in Port Operations. The qualifications that can lead to these roles include a Foundation Degree/Diploma in Port Management.
The Port Engineer is responsible for ensuring all the mechanical and electrical equipment is working. This role is supported by Mechanical Assistants, Mechanics and Workshop Managers. These roles generally require an NVQ 4/5 or degree level engineering qualification.
A large Port operation will generally require a mix of engineering disciplines, including mechanical, structural, electrical and civil engineering skills.
There are also other more general career opportunities at the Ports.
-For those Ports that offer passenger services there is a requirement for check-in and customer interfacing staff, as well as a greater demand for staff with skills in catering and hospitality.
-There are a number of companies who operate freight forwarding services. There is a particularly strong representation of these companies in Liverpool City Centre.
-There are opportunities in HM Customs and Revenues, in particular at the Ports which receive international traffic directly.
-There are likely to be a number of warehouses/storage areas at the Port. These require warehouse operators, drivers and in some cases stevedoring companies, who handle the loading and unloading of cargos.

Factsheet 3Enterprise Zones