FTW bursaries boost skills development initiative

FTW has put its weight behind skills development in South Africa by making available two bursaries to students of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS). The academic bursaries will allow 22-year-old Londa Small, an employee of Alpha Shipping in Durban, to do his Advanced Diploma with the ICS, while Jonathan Millar (25), who works for World Shipping Agencies in Cape Town, will be completing the Professional Qualifying Exams (PQE). According to the ICS’s Fiona de Goede, the two students were awarded the sponsorships after a thorough selection process by the ICS who called for applications for the bursaries earlier this year. “We believe these two candidates are very worthy of the bursaries as they have been committed to their studies from the get go,” she told FTW. “The importance of sponsorships cannot be underestimated as it really is about giving people the opportunity to study that ultimately benefits the shipping industry.” Small told FTW that from a young age, growing up in the KwaMakhutha township in Durban, ships and how they stayed afloat had fascinated him. “It was this fascination that fuelled my quest for knowledge and ultimately led to me choosing the shipping industry as a career.” He said the importance of education had been ingrained in him from a young age. “To me learning is selfimprovement and success comes from repetition. My short-term goal is to become a Member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (MICS) and my long-term and ultimate goal is to become a Fellow of the ICS. Both these require hard work and dedication. Through this bursary I am one step closer to achieving those goals.” Millar said in the everchanging world of shipping, training and skills development through ongoing education were integral. “I believe that is the only way to continue one’s personal and career growth,” he said. Asked about the allure of the shipping industry he said it was its lack of monotony that continued to enthrall.