A new standard for an international freight forwarding operative apprenticeship has been approved by the UK Department for Education.
The employer group ‘Trailblazer’, led by Kuehne + Nagel, put forward an expression of interest in January. The group, which is made up of 38 businesses, now needs to create standards and details about what the new apprenticeship will include.
“Developing Talent is a focus area for us at K&N, and we are pleased to be the lead employer on this vital industry initiative,” said Jon Hettrick, HR director, Kuehne + Nagel. “The whole sector can benefit from training and development provision that delivers the specialist knowledge and skills we use every day in freight forwarding.
“We are committed to supporting the group with the necessary resource to deliver an Apprenticeship Standard that will give us that.”
Robert Keen, director general of the British International Freight Association, said: “I’ve said before that we need to attract more young people to the industry, so this decision is a significant milestone.
“There is still a lot of work to do, but BIFA will continue to support the group wholeheartedly, and provide resources to help develop an apprenticeship that is relevant to the day-to-day work of a freight forwarder.”
