Ensuring the highest global standards of training for freight forwarders in South Africa is crucial if the country is to compete on the global trade stage, in the view of Mark Goodger, managing director of Global Maritime Legal Solutions (GMLS). Which is why he has welcomed the re-validation of the training material for members of the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) studying towards the Fiata (International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations) Diploma in Freight Forwarding and Higher Diploma in Supply Chain Management. GMLS, which provides the training on behalf of the industry, attended the Fiata Global Malaysia 2017 Congress last month where all their training materials were re-validated. “The Fiata-accredited diplomas ensure that freight forwarders are competent according to strict international standards – benchmarked by Fiata Minimum Standards – as required by the global organisation’s Advisory Body Vocational Training (ABVT),” said Goodger. He explained that the training materials were validated every four years, adding that GMLS had been the only training provider to deliver the full Fiata diploma courses since 2010. “Despite the courses not receiving any Transport Education Training Authority (Teta) funding as yet, numerous students have been awarded their Fiata-recognised certificates, adding muchvalued skills to the industry,” said Goodger.
Pictured with the Fiata ABVT chairman Thomas Sim (far right) are, from the left, Reginald Moyo (GMLS general manager), Mark Goodger (GMLS CEO), David Logan (Saaff CEO) and Tony D’Almeida (Saaff).
