PLANS for a Ports & Logistics Skills Academy in the Haven Gateway area have taken an important step forward with work starting on a detailed business plan for the project.

PLANS for a Ports & Logistics Skills Academy in the Haven Gateway area have taken an important step forward with work starting on a detailed business plan for the project.

The Haven Gateway Partnership has commissioned a consortium of three companies to develop a business plan for the academy, for delivery in September.

The project will be managed by Ignite Consulting as the lead partner in the consortium, which also includes Akenham and Poulsen Selleck.

“The consortium will be looking at a full business plan, identifying funding strings and potential locations for the Academy and working with employers to discuss how this can be delivered,” said Haven Gateway project manager Richard Morton.

“They will submit a full business plan by September which we can take forward for delivery in the future.”

The Haven Gateway's ports, shipping and logistics sector is seen as critical to the sub-region's economy and the partnership is committed to ensuring that the correct skills and training are available, ready for expansion through projects such as the Felixstowe South and Bathside Bay deepwater container terminal developments.

The study is being funded by the East of England Development Agency through the Haven Gateway's Investing in Communities programme.