The South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) has launched a Training Academy, Saaffta, which it believes will help further the cause of education in the logistics industry.
A statement issued on behalf of Saaffta says: “A major skills shortage is on the horizon.
“By 2030, demand for skilled workers will outstrip supply, resulting in a global talent shortage of more than 85.2 million people.
“In the logistics industry, this is already being felt. South Africa is experiencing a widening logistics skills gap, which is severely impacting the competitiveness of the country’s economy and trade.”
According to Saaffta, the academy is a majority black-owned, B-BBEE Level “learning institution for professionals and businesses (that) offers targeted training solutions and capacity building interventions for the transport, logistics and supply chain industries”.
Director of the academy, Jerann Naidu, says: “Saafta has been established to first and foremost remedy the lack of skills that is apparent within the supply chain business environment.
“Saaffta aims to set the benchmark for industry best practice by linking industry experts, relevant curricula and cutting-edge learning technologies and methodologies to cultivate local talent that can compete on the global stage.”
In the post-launch statement, the academy says it offers “a range of locally and internationally accredited qualifications and programmes”, and “provides bespoke entrepreneurship development for small, medium and micro-enterprises within the sectors”.
Naidu explains that Saaffta has a collective of industry experts who align training to industry needs.
“Our approach to education and training is underpinned by a blended learning philosophy that uses in-class, virtual/online and workplace simulation tools that reinforce the subject matter taught to learners, with real-world experiences.”
The use of a unique Work Experience Model producing work-ready candidates is said to be one of the differentiating factors of Saaffta.
“We want to add value to the industry,” says Naidu.
“We do not want to bleed millions of rands in penalties, costs and delays, but rather contribute to the building of a resilient logistics network that is the heartbeat of our economy.”
- Freight News has been approached by members of Saaff who have made certain claims against the association in light of the academy’s launch. These claims, for the most part, relate to membership fees allegedly being used to launch an academy that will compete with the business interests of Saaff members operating in education for the logistics sector. Freight News is in the process of looking into these claims.
