Fiata Diploma will enhance skills pool

The efforts of the SA Association of Freight Forwarders to reintroduce the Fiata Diploma to South Africa will open up opportunities for a number of different parties, says Global Trade Training’s Charles Dey. “For employers this means they can upskill their workers to the same levels of those who complete the German, Swiss or Austrian commercial apprenticeships. Within the industry such people have earned well-deserved recognition for their professionalism and their versatility in all fields of freight forwarding.” Says Dey: “Given the current paucity of these much-needed competencies and the ever-increasing prices which industry is currently forced to pay for them, it seems a worthwhile objective, particularly when the Teta funding model for such training means that most of the costs are fully recoverable.” Dey believes GTT’s e-learning and blended learning offerings, which are structured in accordance with the specifications of the Fiata Diploma qualifications and whose Learner Management system is aligned to Teta reporting requirements, are the ideal vehicle to provide cost-effective training. For existing employees who wish to see the “University of Life” learning they have gained through their experience formally recognised, it is now possible to achieve the Fiata Diploma through a process involving assessment and the assembly of portfolios which demonstrate competence in the areas of the qualifications.