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WHAT HAS UNIT STANDARD-BASED VOCATIONAL TRAINING DONE FOR THE FREIGHT INDUSTRY? Assuming that the objective of this training is to produce knowledgeable, qualified and productive technical staff, then it has failed abysmally. It is one thing to boast about the number of learnerships in place (i.e. the number of employed apprentices using the international term), it is another to accept that very, very few entry clerks have come out of the system. An entry clerk has to decide under what tariff heading to declare imported and exported goods to Customs.

He (most of them are males!) has to be able to apply four key Schedules to the Customs Act, as well as knowing relevant sections of the Act itself and the Rules, and the documentation and procedures involved. An incorrect tariff heading can have disastrous implications. Recently, in Durban, an entry clerk made two errors resulting in the overpayment of duty of R100 000 and R80 000 respectively.

The experience in the freight industry has been that most learners leave what has become their temporary employment after 12 to 24 months, having been given a general introduction to the varied functions of customs clearing and freight forwarding. Few of them have had the benefit of in-depth training in entries. An unfortunate result of this for employers has been the impact on salaries. I’m aware of one individual who has changed jobs four times in eight years and still does not know how to apply all export purpose codes, or rattle off the general notes to Schedule No 1.
 

The qualifications which have been put in place for the freight industry require of the learner to study a whole range of subjects, each embodied in a unit standard. There is nothing inherently wrong with this but in the case of entry clerks, the powers that be have missed the plot. The NQF Level 3 Certificate on Freight Forwarding and Customs Compliance has 15 Core, 8 Fundamental and 25 Elective unit standards. Two of the Core and four of the Elective unit standards deal with Customs Affairs. Need one say more?

In an exciting development affecting the importing, exporting and freight forwarding fraternity, the University of Pretoria has put together two vocational training programmes – a  Certificate Programme, and an Advanced Programme in International Freight Management and Administration and the University intends obtaining accreditation for FIATA Diploma purposes – the international benchmark qualification.

The University falls under the Council for Higher Education, and training programmes need not be unit standard based. Universities work on approved curricula. Curriculum training requires that all elements must be studied and learning assessed. Students do not study unrelated topics, concentrating solely on the subjects for which the programmes have been developed.
 
 

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CILTSA Green Supply Chain Awards – 19 August, Jhb  - view details
 

RFA Convention – 22-24 August, Wild Coast Sun  - view details
 

CSCMP: Using Lean in Supply Chain Management – 25 August, Jhb  - view details
 

Fundamentals of Demand Forecasting – 25-26 August 2010, Jhb  - view details
 

Logistics Achiever Awards – 16 September, Jhb  - view details
 

 

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