WBCG training initiative picks up pace

The first 27 logistics operators
are being taken through their
paces in the intensive skills
development programme
launched by the Walvis Bay Corridor
Group.
It’s part of the organisation’s
strategy to sell the
Walvis Bay option
as an alternative
trade route for the
Southern African
Development
Community
(SADC).
“But it will take
specialised skills
to do so – and this
training initiative
is part of a plan to
build the kind of
capacity needed within the logistics
and transport service industry to
ensure and maintain that faster
logistics chain,” said CEO of the
Walvis Bay Corridor Group, Johny
Smith.
“Using the Walvis Bay trade route
could reduce the time it takes for
goods to arrive in the SADC landlocked
countries from a number of
global destinations,” said Smith.
“In 2015 the WBCG entered into a
service agreement with the Business
School of Excellence (BSE) to host
an accredited
National
Certificate in Road
Transport (NQA
level 3). The first
group of 27 small
and medium
enterprises
(SMMEs) within
the transport and
logistics sector
are currently
undergoing the
intensive skills
development programme,” he said.
The course includes training
in road transport operations,
basic business management
and budgeting principles, basic
principles of road transport
management, as well as
occupational health, safety and
environment protection.
“This will further result in
enhanced logistical efficiencies which
will impact trade facilitation within
SADC positively,” Smith pointed out.
Improving efficiency of the
supply chain is one of the key
challenges for logistics service
providers as it could help them
retain a competitive edge as
companies increasingly battle
for market share in a global and
regional economic slump.
“This can be achieved through
innovative use of technology –
as systems become more and
more important – but superior
customer service will always win
out,” said Smith.
INSERT & CAPTION
This will result in
enhanced logistical
efficiencies, which will
impact trade facilitation
within SADC positively.
– Johny Smith
CAPTION
The Walvis Bay port... building skills.