Mayor of Greater Manchester visits local veterans’ charity

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham visits Veterans into Logistics

The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, visited local veterans' charity, Veterans into Logistics recently to see how the charity trains and mentors ex-military personnel into new careers as HGV drivers.

The mayor was given a tour of the Greater Manchester charity's new fleet of three Volvo training trucks received last year thanks to funding from Volvo Trucks UK & Ireland and Asda donating vehicles and a generous £30k grant from the Veterans’ Foundation.

The mayor has supported Veterans into Logistics from the beginning and in 2021 attended the naming of its first HGV Class 1 truck in memory of Fusilier Lee Rigby; so founder and former Royal Artillery Airborne Gunner, Darren Wright, along with general manager, John Harker MBE, were delighted to show him the newest trucks in the fleet.

Andy Burnham, said: “It was great to visit the Veterans into Logistics site once again and see the impressive progress it has made over the past few years. The charity does an incredible job into supporting ex-servicemen and women from the Armed Forces in Greater Manchester into new careers and preventing homelessness.

“Charities such as Veterans for Logistics really do play a key role in our mission to make Greater Manchester the best place in the country for serving and ex-serving members of the Armed Forces and their families through our Armed Forces Covenant. Seeing the charity go from strength to strength with a growing fleet of trucks is very positive to see and we will continue to support them however we can.”

Veterans into Logistics general manager, John Harker MBE said: “We thank the Mayor for his continued support in our mission to prevent unemployment and homelessness amongst the ex-military community through our proven pathway into the logistics industry.

“He understands the needs of the veteran community in the Greater Manchester area and why we provide training and mentoring to those who need some extra help as they make the transition to civilian life.

“Many of the veterans we train live locally and we are able to offer them employment opportunities with our partners, providing structure, stability and financial security. This is not only important for their life post-military, but also for the local area and economy.”