Professionalism takes a step forward

The South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) has called for expressions of interest from its members in establishing an independent professional body of freight forwarders. This will be the first of its kind in the world, says Tony d’Almeida, director of education, training and development at Saaff. “Through participation in this initiative, individuals will be able to achieve professional recognition on a national database. We believe this move will go a long way towards ensuring a high level of standards and ethics within the industry and we are thrilled that it could become a reality for our members by the end of this year,” he said. The professional institute will require the individual members to sign a code of ethics and formally commit to continuous learning and development. Individual members will be required to be employed by a Saaff member company. Saaff president, Basil Pietersen, adds: “This initiative provides the opportunity for each one of us to stand up and be counted as dedicated industry professionals. In doing so we demonstrate that the foundation of this industry is the professionalism of its people.” In the same way as auditors, for example, have to write exams before they can enter the industry – because they run trust accounts – a similar requirement should apply in the forwarding industry which handles large sums of money, an industry source told FTW. The expression-ofinterest form is available for download from the Saaff website. INSERT & CAPTION Professional body could become a reality for our members by the end of this year. – Tony d'Almeida