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Intermediary September 2001
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The importance of training can never be underestimated. One body synonymous with the provision of training and education in the maritime field is the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS).
The ICS is not a new name in training and education. Founded in 1911 to represent intermediaries involved in the chartering of ships, by the 1920s it had received a Royal Charter enabling it to offer professional qualifications to those working in shipping. Today, through its correspondence college, Tutorship, the ICS offers a wide range of qualifications and courses for shipping professionals everywhere including dry cargo chartering, ship management, sale and purchase, liner trades, port agency, shipping law and marine insurance.
"Tutorship not only offers courses for those already working in shipping but also assists those embarking on a career in the shipping business or working in support departments, such as marketing, within a shipping firm," says Barbara Fletcher, director at the ICS. In fact, it is those with little or no exposure to ships or shipping that one of the Institute's most recently launched courses is aimed at. Understanding Shipping, a nine-module course, combining multiple-choice exams, essays and an assessment interview with a member of the Institute, covers ships and trades, the business and the players, bills of lading, port agency, bulk carrier and tanker documents, liner agency documentation, chartering, ports and cargoes, and ship management and operations.
Launching new courses is one thing. Delivering them to the students who need them is another. In a bid to make training more accessible and cost effective, Understanding Shipping became the first ICS course to be delivered using video conferencing. "Funded in part by the Suffolk Technical and Enterprise Council, the video conference link enables students overseas to receive tutorials directly from a tutor based at the ICS office in London. Using sophisticated software, the tutor is not only visible on screen, but he or she can also use the screen as an overhead projector and a blackboard," explains Barbara Fletcher.
The course, which was initially launched in November last year, is being assessed for its suitability for use in other countries and in conjunction with other ICS courses. "This is a very good way of investigating what will be a key method of delivery in the future. Through the use of video conferencing, we are meeting demand for the delivery of shipping education overseas in a cost-effective way," says John Barclay, education consultant to Tutorship.
Tutorship also helps prepare students for their qualifying examinations for membership of the ICS. In 2000 alone, as many as 1,500 students entered these examinations. Reflecting the widening reputation of the ICS qualifications, these exams were sat in over 80 different centres around the world. "I am particularly pleased that more and more centres are being made available at which candidates can sit the examination," says Barbara Fletcher. "This is, of course, making the examinations more accessible and emphasises the point that the Institute is a truly worldwide organisation with an influence stretching to areas thought virtually out of reach only a few years ago," she adds.
Along with its own courses, the ICS also collaborates closely with a number of leading names in the shipping world in the training of their new recruits. For example, in 1999 the ICS trained more than 400 students on behalf of P&O Nedlloyd. The shipping community also gets involved with the Institute's courses and examinations through its prize-giving ceremonies. Held in London each year, the most outstanding students in a variety of disciplines receive prizes from the likes of Braemar, Clarksons, E A Gibson and The Baltic Exchange in recognition of their achievements.
However, it is not only training and education that the Institute has become well-known for. It also plays a key role in giving its members a voice at a national and international level. Today, it has over 3,500 members, sixty per cent of whom are overseas. These members enjoy local support from the ICS through its network of branches reaching as far as Australia, New Zealand, Benelux, British Columbia, Calcutta, Cyprus, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Chennai, Mumbai, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates, along with ten branches in the UK, Barbara Fletcher points out that "supporting our members on a local basis is an important part of the service we provide. Not only can we bring members together this way, we can also provide them with a tool to help achieve change,".
With a highly active and influential liner committee and Federation Council, the Institute's ability to bring together the shipping community and the government to help raise the profile and importance of the shipping industry is one of its less recognised roles. The liner committee, for example, has been busy campaigning regarding congestion at certain UK ports, the costs involved with using x-ray scanners to detect illegal immigrants, and the use of 44-tonne lorries to deliver cargo directly to seaports as well as railheads.
It also works closely with the Federation of National Associations of Ship Brokers and Agents (FONASBA) in the standardisation and updating of documentary terms and conditions and is one of the founding members of the UK Maritime Forum aimed at promoting high standards and best practice. Among the topics already tackled by the Forum is the environmental impact of the disposal of oilrigs and other structures in the North Sea.
The ICS will continue to be synonymous with the provision of high-quality training and education in shipping. Barbara Fletcher also firmly believes that through its links with BIMCO, IMO, the Chamber of Shipping, the Parliamentary Maritime Group, UNCTAD, FONASBA and others, the Institute will continue to give its members the opportunity to put forward their own considered opinions. As the Institute's website states, 'A group speaking with one voice will have a greater impact and influence than individuals speaking separately, even if they are saying the same thing'.
Our thanks to Barbara Fletcher, Director of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, who is due to retire in December 2001.