Clearing skills shortage adds to risks

An ageing (and retiring workforce), combined with the industry’s seeming inability to attract and retain young talent, is affecting movers of project cargo. “There’s an issue in the industry; the knowledge and experience have gone,” Carl Webb, managing director of Project Logistics Management (PLM), told Freight News. “The majority of staff now in the clearing and forwarding industry are container orientated. “Very few are project or breakbulk orientated. “That is a problem because they cannot see the bigger picture,” he said. Delays in the movement of project cargo have been defined as a systemic project-delivery risk across the region. A shortage of specialised clearing and forwarding skills adds to delays because customs clearance is more than an administrative task; it requires technical knowledge of customs regulations, trade documentation, tariff classification, valuation, permits and cross-border compliance. In the SADC region, where shipments often move through several jurisdictions, limited access to experienced personnel can cause delays at every stage of the logistics chain. The general skills shortage in the clearing and forwarding sector was raised at the inaugural Forwarding and Clearing Summit held in Johannesburg in June 2025. Kgatile Nkala, executive manager for corporate services at the Transport Education Training Authority, said forwarding and clearing businesses “form the backbone of our trade logistics sector, yet many lack access to the training and development resources required to keep pace with global standards”. Challenges facing the sector have also been raised by Ingrid Du Buisson, chief executive officer of the Institute of Customs and Freight Forwarding (ICFF). “In 2026, freight forwarding and customs compliance are already being dominated by tightened regulations, digital documentation mandates, real- time audits and geopolitical trade fragmentation. “Forwarders face challenges in maintaining accuracy across multiple jurisdictions, integrating environmental and data governance rules and avoiding costly penalties for even minor errors. “Compliance now affects routing, carrier selection, documentation timing and even customer communication,” she says in an ICFF perspective article. Research undertaken by the ICFF across the industry has identified and verified a list of critical skills that require development to address the challenges. Most impact the movement of out-of-gauge cargo. They include international shipping procedures, trade finance and documentation, customs documentation and compliance, customs regulations and updates, incoterms and trade agreements, freight management systems, forwarding control (logistics control), data and supply chain analytics, freight cost optimisation, dangerous goods regulations, client relationship (customer service), insurance and risk controller, cargo and warehouse controller, sales with regulatory structure and management and leadership. ER