Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) and the Indian Institute of Freight Forwarders (IIFF, the Training arm of FFFAI) have signed the MoU with the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), a prestigious training institute and the premier Centre of Excellence in Logistics in India, having a world-class campus, located in the heart of Mumbai city. The collaboration between FFFAI and NITIE will open many opportunities for upgrading the skill sets of prospective candidates who want to pursue professional training in the field of Logistics and Supply Chain sectors.
The MoU which was signed through the E-mode during the 6th EC Meeting of FFFAI held at Bengaluru on 28th May 2022 was attended by 28 member Associations in India led by Mr. Shankar Shinde, Chairman, FFFAI.
Also present on this occasion were Mr. N Sivasailam, former Special Secretary (Logistics), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, and Mr. Bani Bhattacharjee, IRS. The signing program was attended by EC members and members of BCHAAL as well.
Highlighting the far-reaching effects of this MoU about the collaboration between FFFAI and NITIE for skilling people for the logistics industry, Mr. Shinde commended the high-quality infrastructure and training facilities being offered by NITIE to new aspirants for the logistics industry. “We have witnessed the excellent infrastructure and facilities available for training while we visited the Institute campus. With renowned logistics industry professional Mr. Shashi Kiran Shetty at its helm as the Chairman, we are confident this Institute would add more value to the collaboration between FFFAI and NITIE and thereby to the entire logistics industry,”
He added, that the purpose of the MoU is to share knowledge, collaborate, research to map the actual requirements, procure trained persons, and fill up the gap between the demand and supply of trained manpower in the logistics industry.
The FFFAI Chairman also pondered on various government projects assigned to FFFAI which may further be accomplished jointly by FFFAI and NITIE for the greater interest of the country. Mr. Shinde was confident that FFFAI with its IIFF initiatives and regular engagement with the successful execution of the FIATA Logistics Diploma course in IIFF led by Mr. Tej Contractor, President, and Dr. Nirav Thakkar Hon Secretary would benefit and take this initiative to a different height.
In her remarks on the MoU Professor Dr. Hema Date, Coordinator Centre of Excellence in Logistics & SCM and others, NITIE expressed high optimism in catering to the demand side of the logistics industry as far as the supply of trained manpower is concerned, due to the joint initiatives with FFFAI.
Speaking on this occasion Prof. Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Director, NITIE endorsed the observations made by Mr. Shinde emphasizing collaborative activities in different areas for strengthening the logistics industry from an academic point of view. He assured full cooperation to FFFAI in this regard.
Mr. Sivasailam emphatically viewed that training and post-training employment should go hand in hand. According to Mr. Sivasailam, the industry should identify its requirements and provide trainees to get trained and placed back in their respective organizations.
“A training institution’s performance should be judged by the number of employments they can create, as I experienced during my tenure in the Telecom sector. The purpose of training is fulfilled when the employment is guaranteed. Potential persons (trainees) have to be provided by business houses as per their business requirements and the training institutions should send back those trainees with the required training to the business houses, rather than training institute only supply the trained manpower. I am pretty certain that this team of FFFAI and NITIE will carry forward the joint initiatives as per the MoU prepared through mutual discussions to the desired goal,”
Mr. Sivasailam
Further, he stressed the fact that FFFAI is the only logistics organization with penetration in the Tier III cities through its 28 member associations across the country. Accordingly, the training programs would reach out even to the Tier III cities of the country, which in fact, is the objective of the Government’s flagship initiative of “PM Gatishakti”
Responding to Mr. Sivasailam Prof. Twari shared that the Ministry of Education, Government of India, has already identified NITIE as a logistics training hub to implement the PM Gatishakti programs in this regard.
Proposing the vote of thanks Mr. Dushyant Mulani, Chairman Elect, FFFAI thanked the team NITIE for coming forward to sign the most significant MoU with FFFAI, which is the largest logistics association in the country. “Skill development/training remains one of the core activities of FFFAI through its training arm IIFF. The MoU would further strengthen FFFAI’s ongoing endeavor in this regard,” he concluded.
