Ship Agency : Tuesday 3rd October

10.10 - 11.10 Barbara Fletcher - Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers

MAINTAINING STANDARDS

Paper presented at ITIC Conference FORUM 2000 3rd October 2000 by Barbara Fletcher, Director of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers

This year I have spoken publicly on several occasions both in the UK and overseas, on professional education and training. The emphasis has always been on the setting of standards and I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss maintaining standards. In an international business such as ours setting international standards is relatively easy but maintaining them is more difficult and more important that perhaps most companies realise.

At this point you may well expect me to launch into a promotional speech about the Institute and it would be the easy way out for me. You will be relieved to learn I am not going to do that. Neverthless, if only to justify my presence here, I do think it is important to make the point that the Institute has a great deal of experience and much to offer all aspects of the industry for all grades of personnel. The ICS has a growing role in providing customised in-house education and training for companies such as AP Moller/Maersk and P & O Nedlloyd In 1999/2000 we had some 1200 students studying for our professional qualification worldwide and trained 2,500 staff in the UK and South Africa. I believe that record is impressive but an Institute such as ours can only be influential and work for the industry if we have your active co-operation.

The central point of my argument this morning is that a structured system of vocational training and education is going to become part of commercial life, whether you do it in-house or out-source it . This will be beneficial provided you make sure you know what you are getting, clearly identify your needs and satisfy yourself that those doing the training are competent to deliver.

If we are to pay more than lip service to having standards of education, training and best business practice then all players in the industry must be fully committed to that aim. Committed not only to having professionally qualified and trained personnel but to make sure the education and training their staff have is most appropriate to their needs and delivered in a way which firmly links theory to practice by people who are adequately equipped for the task.

Furthermore the chief executives of companies, human resource departments where they exists, the managers of branch offices and the professional institutes all need to be aware and prepared to influence the external education and training environment. We must ensure that those outside the industry who impose the more general standards and regulations for training and education make decisions that are relevant, capable of practical implementation . Currently a great deal of public money is, quite rightly, going into training standards the industry has a responsibility to see that it is used wisely and provides the skills needed both now and in the future.

I am not only speaking about the UK. there are many countries throughout the world with skill shortages or where it is important to train young people for jobs that have previously not been within their grasp. Nation and international regulation is growing and everyone has to understand how these regulations operate and their impact on the industry. It is likely when education and training initiatives occur that the industry or organisations within it will be asked for information and advice. If you are asked then please respond.

I spent five years as Chairman of the Industry Lead Body for International Trade and Services and throughout the whole period continually searched, without success, for those within the shore based industry prepared to commit time to defining the vocational standards. The point I want to make is that governments are determined to implement standardised vocational qualifications and combat skill deficiency. If the industry does not actively take part in this exercise someone somewhere will make the decisions for you and they will not necessarily be the right ones.

Standards are not a static absolute, they must of necessity reflect the changes in the commercial environment to which they relate. Unless the standards are right maintaining them will be impossible.

First let us look at the context in which, as an industry, we should be maintaining the set of standards to which we subscribe. The profile of education and training has never been higher. Training is currently offered as a way of increasing and updating skills; assisting individuals and companies to cope with change; making young people more specifically suited to the employment on offer and sadly on occasions as a way of compensating for a failing education system.

In shipping, as I am sure is the case with other industries, the commercial environment is one of increasing competitiveness, narrow margins, and with the need to adapt to the challenges of new, fast developing changes in communications.

The organisation of companies reflects these changes. Staffing levels have been cut and advances in information technology mean that many of the tasks, both basic and sophisticated, are now undertaken by personnel whose skills are centred on the use of computers and information technology rather than the information which they process.

This results in three needs:

1 First, the need, in some way, to replace on the job experience those who are eventually going to become managers. In the past this experience has been gained from working up the promotional ladder, learning the business on the way. These are the people who are making careers in shipping.

2 Secondly, the need to ensure that those who are the computer operatives understand sufficiently the commercial importance of the tasks they undertake to prevent unnecessary and expensive errors. If an individual does not appreciate the significance of the information they are inputting, then the opportunity for unnecessary errors increase geometrically.

3 Finally, of course, with the rapid changes in technology, business practice and the economic and commercial environment, the staff need updating both in terms of information and particular skills.

Those in the first category are likely to be individuals who are looking to a career in the shipping industry and need a broad understanding of shipping business as well as specialist knowledge relating to the specific areas in which they work. They will look more towards education and professional qualifications, for example becoming a member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers or one of the other maritime institutes.

The second group is more likely to regard their occupation as being in a job rather than a career. Their basic training is likely to be in information technology and their capability is not industry but rather technology specific. They could be inputting information in any industry.

The third group need continuing professional education and the facilities to enable them to cope with change at all levels.

If we are to maintain standards and meet the needs which I have set out above, then it is important that we clearly understand the concepts which we use for this purpose and the role they play in ensuring the needs are met.

One basic problem is created by the extent to which training and education are regarded as inter-changeable terms. Education and training are not the same; they are fundamentally different and require different methods of teaching and instruction on the part of those that are either educating or training. Furthermore, they require different methods of assessment.

Once the basic educational skills have been learnt, education enables us to analyse, assess, extrapolate and use information to respond to changing circumstances and situations. Whilst training may also involve the assessment and analysis of information, its main aim is directed at making people adept at carrying out specific tasks, albeit often complex ones. To put this simply but not simplistically, training is about how we do things; education is about why we do them.

Individuals will need training and re-training as their jobs or careers change or they are promoted to new positions. Training only lasts until the next change comes along. Education is for life in the sense that it provides the transferable skills which help us cope with change and often may be transferred from one career to another, although training may be required to successfully complete the change.

I am amazed at how few questions companies ask about education and training courses and the way the outcomes are assessed. For example a course may give the necessary knowledge base but does it enable the participant to use that information in the context of an office of a busy liner or ships agency? What experience of the commercial interaction of theory and practice does the trainer have? It is important that those working in human resources departments really understand the complexities of the industry in which they are working and can relate that to the theory and practice of human resource management.

How experienced are the people who assess competency for the award of vocational qualifications? Recently a junior member of the Institute staff was being assessed for a business administration National Vocational Award and on querying the experience of the assessor I was told she had been a child minder but was not very fulfilled so had taken the examination to become an assessor for business administration. I find it extraordinary that we have a system when competency to do a range of tasks is judged by someone with no experience of doing the tasks in a commercial setting. The National Qualifications are intended to be about work based competency not just the ability to do specific tasks, an employer needs to know that those tasks may be carried out competently in a commercial setting.

If the current and forthcoming vocational qualifications are to give you the skilled and competent staff you need then you must be prepared as employers and managers to make sure the system has the right structures and personnel to achieve that end.

Yesterday we heard the majority of speakers using such words and phrases as 'change' 'challenges', 'outsourcing', 'diversifying' and 'the increased efficiency and lower costs of 'E-commerce'. Whilst there was some disagreement as to how fast that change would take place there was general agreement about the view of the future. You are in the best position to judge what skills you and your staff will need in the future - make sure you are in position to influence the standards set do not have them imposed upon you.

Sadly, the phrase is often heard, "Why should I educate or train someone so that they can go and work for somebody else?" This is a very short-sighted view and, in fact, all other things being equal, the company training may well ensure the retention of personnel rather than the encouragement to move elsewhere. Training is seen by many individuals as a "reward", a sign of personal value, or at the very least a perk of the job.

An interesting piece of research has been reported recently which again illustrates the negative attitude to training. This research was related to information technology but does have something to add to the general debate. It is anticipated that over the next two years companies will experience a staff turnover of over one-third of their IT personnel. Since IT staff have a highly transferable skill they may move from business sector to business sector with ease. Faced with such knowledge a company could take the view that a well-structured training programme would stem the flow, alternatively specific employment related training might overcome the skill shortage which is part of the cause of the high turnover. The research shows, however, that companies take the negative view, if we are going to lose the personnel why should we invest in training.

In my experience one reason for this negative view is that not all employers or managers feel comfortable with providing training which may be beyond their own level of education or experience. In an environment when communications technology is changing rapidly this happens more often than one might imagine. This situation leads a company into a downward spiral of outmoded, out of date technology, less efficient productivity and the inability to work on an equal footing with other organisations.

In a society which had a professional education and training culture this negative attitude would get fairly short shift and a positive approach to vocational education and training would prevail. I realise that for small companies without a human resources department or a training manager there maybe no one with expertise in this area; organising training is yet another burden for managers and directors under stress. If training was an inherent part of the business structure it would not be an 'extra' but part of the business strategy for both managers and employees.

My closing remarks are directed to why it is essential WE as an industry create and sustain a professional/ vocational education and training culture.. Without this maintaining standards will be unattainable.

Professional education and training strengthens the ability of an individual to perform in any work situation; changing requirements on the job demand flexible skills. This is an instance where training is building on education or education and training are working together. A trained individual feels valued, more confident and performs more efficiently at work.

Training will also enhance an employee's job prospects within an organisation, provide a clear career goal and motivate an individual to meet required standards. It should not be forgotten also that training is a constructive tool for the employer to assess the potential of its employees.

Also few companies seem to recognise the cost of losing good staff - mistakes, lost business and litigation far exceed the cost of training. A point particular pertinent in the context of this forum.

Most important of all shipping is a truly international business and global business requires global education and training. The ability to compete in an international market relies to a large extent on the quality of the employees and the training provided by the employer. Shipping business should develop a positive vocational education and training structure.

Maintaining standards is a central role of my Institute and, as I hope I have shown, this role involves a great deal more than merely setting the standards and testing them in a structured way. It involves constant dialogue with the industry and the major organisations within it as well as the external environment in which we operate. However, if as an industry we are to maintain the standards on which shipping business will thrive then the companies and managers within the industry itself must make take an active and on-going part in moulding the structure which will deliver a competent, skilled and efficient labour force.

Maintaining standards through education and training is not something that should be regarded by companies as part of a hypothetical wish list but a practical aim which will enhance their competitiveness and productivity in an increasingly challenging and stressful commercial environment.

B Fletcher 3.10.2000