The Indian Institute of Freight Forwarders (IIFF), the training arm of the Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations of India (FFFAI) has announced a major initiative to help upskill the employees of its member companies across India, as well as to skill and onboard prospective employees for the industry. FFFAI has partnered with 21CC Education to develop and host e-learning modules that will explain the fundamentals of logistics and transportation, as well as the many tasks freight forwarders perform as the linchpins in the industry. 21CC Education is driven by the mission to make learning fast, fun, gamified, and to the point with “Learn anywhere, anytime” being their motto.
The transportation and logistics industry in India has been witnessing constant growth at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5% between 2019 to 2021. This growth is leading to a very strong demand for new employees to enter the industry. Additionally, factors like growing digitization, changing consumer preferences, and the expansion of e-commerce, as well as enabling government policies like the National Asset Monetization Pipeline and PM Gati Shakti Yojana are steering the transformation, modernization, and development of the logistics industry in India.
As the guardian of the broader interests of the freight forwarding community in India, the FFFAI plays a critical role in ensuring the long-term health of the industry through a robust skilling and upskilling program. Mr Shankar Shinde, Chairman of FFFAI and Managing Director of Global Express Multilogistics Pvt. Ltd., said, “The transportation and logistics industry is a great industry in which to make a career. The diversity of work is only increasing year upon year, with ample opportunities in India and abroad. In order to make sure that our member companies can attract the right talent, it is critical that we proactively skill and train that talent for our industry.”
Mr Sanjay Tiwari, CEO of 21CC Education, who has first-hand experience working at companies such as Maersk and KLM Cargo, expressed his pleasure at being selected to partner with IIFF in this significant endeavour and remarked, “Indian Institute of Freight Forwarding (IIFF) and 21CC hope to create a learning program that can help to upskill the approximately 45,000 employees of FFFAI members across India and skill graduates from colleges as prospective entrants into the industry.” Acquiring skills in freight forwarding and logistics will help employees to better manage their career growth while also ensuring that companies have a constant inflow of well-qualified talent.
India’s logistics sector is projected to expand at a CAGR of more than 10 per cent, from $200 billion in early 2020 to at least $320 billion in 2025. It is well known that logistics is the backbone of any industry. With future growth and opportunity in mind, one must leverage technology effectively to support business growth and drive operational efficiency and productivity and this is where skilling plays the most crucial role.
Mr Shinde said in closing, “A large part of making India Atma Nirbhar is to ensure that we create the talent pool that will populate and run our industry for decades to come. This joint initiative with 21CC Education represents a first and vital step in that direction.”
The 21CC Skilled app, available on Android and iOS, not only offers online training but also matches qualified candidates with the right employers.
