The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK) has appointed Steven Bishop and Stephen Fidler as vice-presidents, a leadership addition that matters to institute professionals as the logistics and transport sector shifts from a labour shortage to a deeper capability and progression gap. Both bring extensive experience across transport, government and the built environment, spanning policy, strategy, planning, infrastructure and passenger transport.

CILT UK is the professional body representing professionals across logistics, supply chain and transport.

Bishop is a director at Steer, an international consultancy specialising in infrastructure, cities and transport advisory and planning, where he has worked across public and private sectors on economic development and mobility. Steer does not publish commercial financials.

Fidler is director of Local Passenger Transport and Inclusion at the Department for Transport, a senior civil servant with more than 30 years' experience in transport policy across government.

The appointments respond to a structural shift in the sector's workforce challenge rather than a routine board refresh.

Logistics UK's 2026 Employment and Skills Report found that labour shortages have eased but a widening capability gap now threatens productivity, with 61.6 per cent of HGV drivers and 47.7 per cent of warehouse managers aged 45 or over, according to Business Motoring. The report flagged limited progression pathways from entry level into higher skilled managerial roles.

Bishop said, "CILT (UK) has a crucial role in bringing different perspectives together, sharing knowledge and strengthening the professional expertise we need to adapt and grow." Fidler said, "I have seen the difference that committed and skilled transport professionals make to people's lives and growth."

For the sector, appointing vice-presidents with combined consultancy, government and policy backgrounds directly targets the managerial and strategic capability gap the sector's own data identifies. For the sector's career progression pipeline specifically, senior figures bridging public and private practice can model the cross-sector mobility the skills report says is too limited.

Whether CILT translates this leadership addition into concrete progression pathways, rather than symbolic representation, will be the clearer test of the appointments' impact.

Source: Rail UK / Business Motoring