Transport Apprentice - Bristol

DHL Group; West of England; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 26,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Generous holiday entitlement

Employee bonus scheme

Pension with life assurance

Wellbeing programme

Employee discounts and benefits

Internal training and development

Job summary

DHL Global Forwarding is hiring for a trainee/entry-level role in the UK, offering 37.5 hours per week. You will learn transport planning, raise customer bookings, and support the Transport Manager with maintenance scheduling and compliance tasks.

The role emphasizes learning across systems, health and safety, and customer service skills. You will develop understanding of licensing, tachograph rules, and dangerous goods handling while building problem-solving abilities and cross-team

Qualifications

• Clear and concise communication skills (written and spoken).
• Ability to follow established processes and contribute to improvements.
• Interest in continuous improvement and cross-team collaboration.
• Good relationship management and cultural awareness across teams.
• Knowledge of Freight Forwarding processes is desirable.
• HMRC procedures knowledge is essential.

Responsibilities

• Learning transport planning and vehicle routing.
• Raising customer bookings and assisting the Transport Manager.
• Logging and reporting operational issues.
• Briefing drivers and conducting end-of-shift debriefs.
• Supporting customer service with queries.
• Understanding tachograph regulations and dangerous goods handling.

Skills

Clear communication

Follow processes

Continuous improvement

Inter-personal skills

Freight forwarding knowledge

Education

5 GCSEs incl Maths & English

Desirable HMRC procedures knowledge

Job description

Who is DHL Global Forwarding?

DHL Global Forwarding (DGF) is part of the DHL Group. While the DHL Group employs more than 580,000 people globally, DGF has around 31,000 freight forwarding experts in more than 190 countries around the world, with around 1,000 of us based in the UK across 15 Sites. As the experts in Freight Forwarding since 1815, we are the global specialists in Air, Ocean and Rail Freight.

You name it, we’ve shipped it - from brown bears to aircraft engines, to lifesaving medicines and luxury cars! We are also proud to partner with some of the well-known global sporting series, movie franchises and music tours.

Our people are at the heart of what we do, and we’re committed to helping our Forwarders to realise their full potential, supported by our own development journey - Certified International Forwarder (CIF).

Our Values

Every day we are guided by our values: Passion, Entrepreneurship, Excellence and Teamwork.

We are extremely passionate about our people and what we do, which is why DHL Global Forwarding is recognised as a Top Employer and a Great Place to Work, because we are specialists in providing Excellence, Simply Delivered.

In addition to our values, we promote an open and honest feedback culture based on Respect & Results, whereby our employees embrace diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, while ensuring that we never compromise our integrity and compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Learning transport planning and vehicle routing
• Raising customer bookings
• Supporting the Transport Manager with vehicle servicing and maintenance scheduling
• Logging and reporting operational issues
• Briefing drivers at the start of the day and conducting debriefs at the end of the shift
• Assisting the customer service team with queries
• Developing an understanding of Transport Operator Licensing
• Developing an understanding of tachograph regulations
• Learning about dangerous goods handling requirements
• Developing professional email etiquette
• Building strong problem-solving skills
• Gaining experience across multiple internal and external systems
• Understanding health & safety responsibilities
• Awareness of aviation cargo security requirements and supporting the Security Manager
• Spending time with drivers to gain insight into their roles and the challenges within road transport
• Visiting customers
• Ensures that all interactions are compliant with DPDHL Code of Conduct and other compliance requirements e.g. anti-corruption
• Contribute to the First Choice continuous improvement program

Skills and Experience

• Clear and concise communication skills (written and spoken)
• Ability to follow processes
• Ability to support a culture of continuous improvement
• Inter-personal skills - Influencing, communication, relationship management, cultural awareness and ability to work across teams
• Knowledge of Freight Forwarding industry: imports, exports and related processes is desirable
• Experience of HMRC procedures essential.
• 5 GCSEs including Maths and English at Grade C or above (or equivalent) - desirable

Benefits

• A competitive salary
• Generous holiday entitlement
• Eligibility to participate in the Employee Incentive Bonus Scheme
• Pension scheme which includes life assurance
• Access to professional employee assistance and wellbeing programme
• A competitive package of voluntary benefits including retail, entertainment, gym membership, cycle to work scheme, contribution to eye care costs, and many more discounts
• Training and Development opportunities with a strong focus on internal promotion

HOURS/SHIFT PATTERN: 37.5 hours per week

DHL is the leading global brand in the logistics industry. Our DHL divisions offer an unrivalled portfolio of logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management. DHL connects people and businesses securely and reliably, enabling global sustainable trade flows.

Our culture is focused on personal commitment – to our customers, to each other, to our communities and to the environment. We reward excellent work and we nurture the talents of our employees. This enables you as an employee to develop your expertise and your career in different areas or divisions – and even in other countries.

We are committed to creating a workplace that ensures mutual respect and is focused on results. We hire talented people from all backgrounds – irrespective of gender, disability, nationality, ethnicity, social background, religion and beliefs, age or sexual orientation and identity. Diversity enriches our workplace, drives our success, and helps us deliver excellence.

By submitting your application, you agree that DGF UK will process your personal data for the purpose of recruitment and selection. We handle all data in accordance with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. To understand what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights, please read our full Privacy Policy.