Contribution from CIFFA
The increased emphasis on meeting compliance, regulatory, and service standards has seen a rush by freight forwarders to get their employees trained and certified. Organizations like Transport Canada, the Canadian Supply Chain Sector Council, FIATA, ICAO and CIFFA are setting those standards. For a small, medium or even large company, knowing the training requirements mandated by all of these groups can be daunting. That is why companies look outside of their organizations to satisfy these requirements. This article will look at the types of training and education programs that are in demand by professionals in the sector, and the best ways to obtain this training.
The investment in training is a vital consideration for employers. Often they must have a minimum number of employees certified in order to do business legally. In fact, CIFFA internally regulates membership to ensure employees meet an expected standard of training development and education. In addition to CIFFA’s membership requirements, many organizations place great importance on developing their employees simply to ensure that best business practices are followed even if compliance or certification is not required.
The compliance training in demand includes dangerous goods (air, ocean, and road) and air cargo security. CIFFA was the first association to become an approved Member Training School offering the new ICAO/FIATA Air Dangerous Goods training programmes – and CIFFA was first to issue the new ICAO/FIATA certificate. CIFFA worked with Transport Canada in developing the training requirements for Air Cargo Security Participants, developing three levels of air cargo security training that meet the standard. By diversifying our certificate offerings, we can give specialized technical or compliance training to organizations which have different needs.
The CIFFA vocational training in demand includes FIATA approved International Transportation and Trade, Essentials of Freight Forwarding, Specialized Freight Forwarding, and Supply Chain Management and Marketing. Learners who complete all four of these vocational programmes – approximately 280 hours of study, are eligible to apply for the FIATA Diploma which is recognized by freight forwarders internationally. To meet more specific and time critical training requirements, CIFFA also offers many half day workshops on subjects ranging from cargo insurance, Incoterms 2010, and letters of credit, to protecting your business with the CIFFA Standard Training Conditions.
Delivery of Training and Education – including the introduction of E-Learning On Demand!
Because of the diverse needs of CIFFA students, a wide array of delivery methods is used to keep up to the demand. Learners today have different schedules and needs, many are located hundreds of kilometres from a major commercial center, or they work hours that may not allow for a set classroom schedule. Knowing this, CIFFA offers a variety of delivery options, most notably the New CIFFA Certificate On-Demand option.
For those who prefer traditional in-class training, CIFFA provides day and night classes on a wide variety of topics. We also partner with accredited and private colleges across the country that teach CIFFA material and offer CIFFA certificates as part of their international trade or logistics diploma programs.
To accommodate learners with location or scheduling conflicts, CIFFA offers the Certificate program, Dangerous Goods and Air Cargo Security as online courses taken anytime by the learner. Some of these courses are supported by webinars with subject matter experts, and some are strictly independent learning. For the first time ever, CIFFA has evolved its E-learning offering, so that the CIFFA certificate program (previously only offered in a set schedule – September to April) is now available anytime online. All lessons, practice exercises, textbooks and exams are reviewed and completed online. This provides added flexibility allowing more people to achieve their education goals.
As the need for compliance and regulatory training grows, so does the interest in new methods of delivery that will save time and money while still delivering best in class training. This is the balance that CIFFA continues to find, and will continue to provide in future.