Saaff gets behind Part 108 training programme

A specialised skills training programme on Part 108 of the Civil Aviation Regulations is set to be registered by no later this year, according to the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff). The organisation has, along with several other industry role players, been involved in the development of the skills programme that is being facilitated by the Forwarding & Clearing Chamber of TETA. Says Tony d’Almeida, Saaff board member for vocational training, “Feedback from the industry was that companies want to implement skills programmes that deal with aspects of Part 108 and that these must be aligned strategically with the Civil Aviations Authority’s training requirements for Part 108 compliance. Several organisations including Saaff, the South African Express Parcels Association, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Forwarding & Clearing Chamber of Teta therefore embarked on a consultative process to developing a framework for an industry standard programme on the new legislation.” Part 108, an addition to the Civil Aviation Regulations, was implemented on July 1 this year. This preventative security programme sets out standards and procedures to be implemented to safeguard against acts of unlawful interference with air cargo, and has major impacts for the transporting of air cargo. “Every person involved in the transporting of cargo that is loaded (lands) on an aeroplane needs to be trained on the regulations. The level of training, be it advanced or just an awareness programme, is determined by where you are in the logistics supply chain,” says D’Almeida. The new skills programme has been developed in conjunction with the CAA while the South African Qualifications Authority has been providing the framework for training material development “The industry is at the moment providing key subject matter experts for the programme development, which will be registered by the end of November. Training on these skills programmes could commence by January 2010.” While there are currently several training courses available on Part 108, the aim of this skills programme is to provide a generic industry programme, says D'Almeida. “Any person who comes out of this training course will know what the responsibilities of up- and down-stream role players are. Instead of each sector mode acting within its own scope we hope to achieve an integrated logistics view to the training on this particular piece of legislation.” The South African Qualifications Authority will register the programme, which must first be approved by the CAA.