IT and freight skills a sought-after combination

Clive Emdon
A SCARCITY of people with both IT and freight skills has forced a company that has served the freight industry with computerised systems for 23 years to offer to train people to combine these skills. Executive chairman Arnold Garber of Compu-Clearing Outsourcing has announced his readiness to roll up his proverbial sleeves and get to work in a bid to find and train new staff. “Basically people should have knowledge of the freight industry and should be computer literate,” he says. “Individuals who are knowledgeable in both freight and IT are very scarce and very sought after. “As suppliers of systems for the customs clearing and freight forwarding industry, it is necessary to have skills in both disciplines.” The company offers computer training and training in its own freight software internally and freight training which it outsources. Garber says that Compu-Clearing, with a staff of 60, is the largest organisation in South Africa with a combination of these skills. “People and their skills are our most important assets. We are continually striving to improve and increase the level and the number of individuals who have them. A very significant part of our budget goes towards training.”