Now a division of IMM
A MONTH into the creation of a joint venture partnership between the Institute of Export and the Institute of Marketing Management, synergy is a word which comes up often in conversation with IMM executive director and CEO James McLuckie, and IEX managers Victor Muhlberg and Jason Morris.
The IMM believes that international marketing, international trade and export management have great synergies. If you look at globalisation and see what's taking place in all markets, it was a very natural process for us to get together, McLuckie told FTW.
One of the major benefits for the IEX is the infrastructure that exists within the IMM regionally, with offices in Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, George, Zimbabwe, Namibia and a representative in Botswana.
Each regional office is fully equipped, linked and staffed by fully trained people, and in each area we give a focus to their regional needs.
The IEX will run as a separate division with its particular focus on export management.
The IMM infrastrucure will support growth and development of the IEX programmes to ensure that they keep abreast of inevitable changes in the volatile international market . You need to be constantly reviewing your content, says McLuckie, who believes that the IMM's international network of organisations worldwide will play an important role in this context.
We also see, through our involvement in the SA Qualifications Authority (SAQA), that the programmes will match into the process so that people have a career advancement opportunity.
For the moment the programmes will run in their current format, but in the long term the IMM has big plans for the IEX division, said McLuckie.
One of these is acknowledging excellence in export management, which is something the IMM does in many other sectors in which it is involved.
We will also look at networking opportunities which we believe will give added value to the student. And here again, the Institute's sound infrastructure will provide enormous logistical benefits.
The IEX's 3-year training programme comprises a Certificate in Export Practice and a Diploma in Export Management.
Both these qualifications are designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary for a career in exporting. They are MITB-accredited and the IEX is currently seeking accreditation from the International Association of Trade Training Organisations.
In addition, the Institute runs several shorter courses focusing on a range of subjects from export documentation and understanding letters of credit, to foreign exchange.
The new joint venture with the IMM follows the demise of Safto, of which the IEX was a subsidiary.
The last word on synergy comes from the IEX's Morris: We see a far greater synergy between the IEX and the IMM because both are committed to education and training, whereas Safto was primarily a consultancy service.
