FFFAI signs MoU with NITIE
“To train people for logistics, employment should be prime focus”, says former Spl. Secretary, Logistics
Federation of Freight Forwarders' Associations in India (FFFAI) and Indian Institute of Freight Forwarders (IIFF, the Training arm of FFFAI) have added one more significant feather to its cap by signing the MoU with 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. This collaboration between FFFAI and NITIE will open many opportunities for upgrading skill sets of prospective candidates who want to pursue professional training in the field of Logistics and Supply Chain sector.
This landmark event (signing of the MoU) was conducted through the E-mode during 6th EC Meeting of FFFAI held at Bengaluru on 28th May 2022 which is attended by 28 member Associations in India lead 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 programme was attended by EC members and members of BCHAAL as well.
In his inaugural comments Mr Shinde highlighted the far-reaching effects of this MoU pertaining to the collaboration between FFFAI and NITIE for skilling people for logistics industry. He 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,” Mr Shinde added. He stated that the purpose of the MoU is to share knowledge, to collaborate, doing researches to map the actual requirements, to procure trained persons and to fill up the gap between the demand and supply of trained manpower to 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 successful execution of FIATA Logistics Diploma course in IIFF lead by Mr Tej Contractor , President and Dr. Nirav Thakkar Hon Secretary would benefit and take this initiatives 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 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 emphasising on collaborative activities in different areas for strengthening the logistics industry from academic point of view. He assured full cooperation to FFFAI in this regard.
Addressing the Office Bearers, EC Members of FFFAI and the officials of NITIE to congratulate them for a great initiative by signing the MoU, Mr Sivasailam emphatically viewed that training and post-training employment should go hand in hand. According to Mr Sivasailam, industry should identify their requirements and provide trainees to get trained and placed back to their respective organisations. “A training institution’s performance should be judged by the number of employments they are able to 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 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,” he said.
He stressed upon the fact that FFFAI is the only logistics organisation with penetration in the Tier III cities through its 28 member associations across the country. Accordingly, the training programmes 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 programmes 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 endeavour in this regard,” he concluded.