Excellence Academy will help trade professionals save costs and navigate new global challenges
23 May 2022
A new Excellence Academy and international trade award is being launched this summer by Chamber International to help British exporters and importers adapt to the practical and technical challenges of today’s international trade environment.
According to a recent British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) survey, Britain’s overseas trade has stagnated in the last 12 months due to factors including adapting to the new free trade agreement following Brexit, rising raw material and energy costs, clogged supply chains following pandemic lockdowns, and the advent of the Northern Ireland protocol.
The Excellence Academy, a series of six half-day interactive online workshops starting on 16 July, being held in partnership with Germany’s Fidelitas International Training, will examine why international trade has become more complex for UK companies and how businesses can prosper in spite of the challenges.
Accredited by British Chambers of Commerce, the Excellence Academy will be delivered by a team of trade professionals and training and development assessors. In keeping with the hands-on nature of the training, numbers will be limited to just 10 participants. Sponsored by their employers, each will also benefit from two months’ individual mentoring immediately after the course, as they put their newly-honed import and export skills into practice.
The course, aimed at candidates from companies involved with import, export, freight forwarding and related sectors, will comprise six modules: Preparing to Trade Internationally; Transport Procedures From Dispatch To Delivery; Getting the Best Out Of Your Freight Forwarder; Official Procedures; Payment Methods; Advanced Customs Procedures.
Candidates who complete the course and assessments within two months will be invited to a prestigious annual awards ceremony next year in Mayfair, London, at the Arab British Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber International says the programme will give candidates a major career boost from gaining expertise, leading to greater job satisfaction, lower company staff turnover, and freeing up management time by reducing the need for supervision.
The BCC’s Quarterly Trade Confidence Outlook released this spring surveyed more than 2,700 UK exporters; it confirmed that UK export sales growth has stalled during the past year while EU countries, such as Germany, have seen exports, inside and outside the EU Single Market, increase in double figures with pandemic trade-losses recovered.
The survey showed the proportion of exporters reporting increased overseas sales was unchanged at 29%, while those reporting a decrease rose to a historical high at 25%.
Fidelitas International Training, based in Ubstadt-Weiher, south-west Germany, was founded in 2008 by Englishman Steve Townsley, an accomplished, nationally-recognized international trade trainer; the company provides training to UK businesses through chambers of commerce.
Steve Townsley says: “Although the circumstances around international trade are changing, the training fundamentals remain: to help businesses ensure legal compliance and to enable them to avoid unnecessary costs through better procedures - more important now than ever, due to rising energy and raw materials prices.
“Focussing on only 10 candidates will give our course leaders an opportunity to go into more depth, making the training especially valuable for participants, and creating a high level of expertise among those who complete the modules and receive the mentoring.”
Chamber International director, Tim Bailey (pictured right) says: “Applications are open to ambitious individuals with a minimum of six month’s supply-chain experience, who want to boost their career prospects. It’s a coaching- and competency-based programme for those looking for fast-moving, in-the-moment, job-ready skills rather than the traditional academic format.”
Click here for the full programme.
For more information and booking, click here.
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