As part of the second annual Department of Transport Logistics & Supply Chain Skills Week, which took place across the week of Monday 26th February – Saturday 2nd March 2024, IIFA organised a webinar under the theme of Careers in Freight Forwarding and Customs Clearance. The aim of this annual initiative is to promote the Irish Freight and Logistics industry as a career of choice and also to create a greater awareness of the contribution played by the industry to the overall economy.
This webinar organised by Irish International Freight Association seeks to provide an insight into working life within the Irish Freight Forwarding and Customs Clearance industry, from the perspective of three young persons who have chosen this industry as their career, all of whom will represent IIFA Full Trading Members:
Our speakers gave details on their careers and their jobs. They discussed the sort of work they do on a day-to-day basis, about how their role can involve planning out the tasks involved with Client’s cargo movement requests. Such work can involve connecting with different Carriers and Agents at destination, putting a plan together, agreeing the arrangements with the Client and finally putting the plan into action. A key element of this, as emphasised by David, is trust; many hands are involved in moving cargo and relationships built over time form the trust needed to ensure that cargo moves safely, efficiently and to ensure that all of the Client’s needs are met.
Each of the Panellists had different educational backgrounds and paths they took into the industry. Damian had the earliest start in the Industry, having taken a second level module in Maritime Studies when he was growing up in South Africa. This course covered different vessel types and world geography for different key ports. This was enough to plant the seed of interest in Damian who has stayed in Freight and Logistics since.
Damian, David and Dayna all displayed a clear passion for the industry. They spoke of a rewarding career and toward the end of the webinar, Dayna focused in on the sense of achievement she gets when closing a job. As part of the Pharma Operations team, Dayna mentioned that the planning for her cargo movements can begin while the cargo is still being manufactured. The Freight Forwarder can play a crucial role in the lifecycle of such cargo, from sourcing raw material to carring the completed cargo to its end destination.
We would like to thank Dayna, David and Damian for their participation in the webinar, and wish them the best of luck going forward with their careers.
For more about Logistics and Supply Chain week, please see: https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/55910-logistics-and-supply-chain-skills-week/
