“Making of a true Logistics Professional”

The Academy of International Trade and Transport (AITT) is the training arm of the Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders’ Association (SLFFA). It is a body endorsed by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), and the International Federation of Freight Forwarding Associations (FIATA). The Institute classes are conducted at the Olympic House, 100/9 F, Independence Avenue, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka.

AITT came into being as a result of the Executive Committee of SLFFA, in 2007, recognising the importance of having skilled and trained professionals to handle the various intricacies of this vital industry.

The establishment of an industry-backed fully pledged training academy was primarily to address the key issue of dwindling number of professional freight forwarders in the country and also to upgrade freight forwarding to a profession that is treated on par with others such as engineering, architecture and insurance.

The vision of AITT is to elevate the image of The Freight Forwarder to a level in which he is recognised and respected in society as that of other professionals such as doctors and engineers.

“Thinking Globally and Acting Locally”

All AITT courses are conducted by a panel of highly competent industry professionals & academics who have undergone training of trainer programmes (TOT) of UNESCAP and FIATA.

“AITT – The Launch”

The first-ever Certificate Course titled “International Transport and Logistics” was launched in July 2007, with a batch of 35 students, from the industry, as well as from amongst major exporting companies. The course has since gained immense popularity, and whenever applications for a new batch of students are called, the positions are filled in no time.

Method of teaching adopted at AITT is aimed at creating an understanding and appreciation of the broad concepts in transport and logistics and then focus on practical applications of these concepts specifically targeting an enhanced performance.

Primary mode of interaction with students has been by way of

• Classroom lectures

• Assignments and field work

• Group work

• Final written examination (Both essay and multiple choices)

From the feedback the Institute has been receiving, the students find the above teaching methods challenging as well as interesting.

” Today, the logistics industry is rapidly expanding to become one of the most vibrant in the world. The role of logistics professionals in all areas of the industry will have an increasingly significant impact on this growing economic sector in the future in Sri-Lanka and Asian continent.

To meet the continual need for upgrading in this industry, The Academy for Trade and Transport (AITT) , the official training arm of SLFFA, has since its inception in 2007,
had introduced and conducted the Diploma and Certificate courses directly relevant to the trade and industry and has trained over 500-students who have immensely benefited from its well designed curriculum courses.

Most of the courses are targeted at industry professionals and operators who are keen to undertake a part-time diploma/certificate to develop their skills.
The Diploma and Advance Certificate courses are design to equip students with effective technical and managerial skills, necessary to become efficient logisticians
at the supervisory and managerial levels. In addition, the programmes aim to impact the essential knowledge and pre-requisites for the pursuit of further education in
business or logistics management.

Global Industry:-
The industry of ‘Transportation & Logistics’ a motivator that drives once CAREER…….with constant challenges, a profession with a learning curve that never peaks in your career…..

The sheer complexity and dynamic nature of the transport and logistics industry has been a source of Constant Amazement, Occasional Consternation and
Surprise…to more than 40,000 global forwarding and logistics service providers engaging around 10.million professionals  spanning across all the continents, thus  manifesting  as the largest industry engaged in the field of transportation and logistics.

It is wonderful to be involved with and engaged in that dynamism, knowing that there are no right answers as such, that nobody has a monopoly of knowledge about how best to run a successful transport and logistics undertaking, and that today’s recipe for success does not guarantee survival tomorrow.

Today with constant knowledge update and training..transport professionals can make high-quality decisions, recognizing and embracing the risk that is involved having a sense of vision and volition and trying to persuade others to share such an exciting venture….CEO AITT “

“Global Knowledge…Local Needs”

Following Courses are currently on offer at our academy.

• Certificate course for beginners (School Leavers) in International Trade and Transport

• Certificate Course in International Trade & Transport

• Advanced Certificate Course in Port Management and port operations

• Advanced Certificate Course in Customs & Border Control (Exports/Imports Procedures)

• FIATA – Diploma in Freight Forwarding

• AITT regularly conducts seminars, workshops to the trade & industry on freight transportation & logistics related subjects.

AITT COURSE SCHEDULE - JULY – DEC, 2010.

August INTAKE:
AITT-UNESCAP Foundation Course on Multimodal Transport and Logistics,
Batch-II (Intake 30-students only), duration 06-Saturdays from 08.30 am to 12.30 pm. – 25-hours.
Registrations close on 16th, August, 2010.
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AITT- Certificate Course in International Trade and Transport,
(Principles of Multimodal Transport, Freight Freight Forwarding, Documentation, Legal Aspects, Business Communication,Services Marketing, Supply Chain Management, and E-Commerce ).
Batch-V (Intake 30-students ) duration 14-Sundays from 08.30 am to 12.30 pm – 56-hours.
Registrations close on 16th, August, 2010.
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AITT – FIATA Course in International Freight Forwarding (Industry Specific Course).
Batch-I (Intake minimum 20-students) duration 44-weekends (Saturday & Sunday from 08.30 am. to 12.30 pm) 352-hours
Registrations close 30th,August, 2010.

Modules covered:-
1) Introduction to Freight Forwarding – 30-hours
*International Freight Forwarder and the Freight Business,
*International Trade,
*International Organizations in Forwarding Trade,

*Organization of the company,(Quality Management Standards, Environmental Management Standards, Trading Contracts, Incoterms, Letters of Credit Application methods,
Pre-shipment inspections, Export-Import documentation, Certificate of origins, Legalized documentation, Other seller/buyer payment methods, Customs Tariff application including Customs procedures and Customs Clearance, General Procedures in the execution of export shipments, Correct issuance of documents, Monitoring of goods and documents.
* Financial and Legal Requirements,
* FIATA Document and forms
FIATA Documents – FIATA-FBL, FIATA-FWB, FIATA-FCR, FIATA-FCT, FIATA-FWR.
FIATA Forms – FIATA-FFI, FIAT-SDT, FIATA-SIC.
*General Knowledge of Transport Related Geography,
* Special Transport Services,
* Packing Requirements,
* Information & Communication Technologies (ICT).
2)Sea Transport – 30-hours.
3) Maritime Transport – 20-hours.
4) Multi-modal Transport – 21-hours.
5) Air Transport – 50-hours.
6) Road Transport – 50-hours
7) Rail Transport – 20-hours
8) National/International Carriage by Inland Waterways -15-hours
9) Customs Procedures – 30-hours.
10) Logistics  -Warehousing, Storage and Distribution – 30-hours.
11) Insurance -Liability Insurance, Transport Insurance – 15-hours.
12) Dangerous Goods Transport – 10-hours.
13) Safety and Security – Security Programs in the Transport Chain – 10-hours.
14) Information & Communication Technologies(ICT) in Forwarding.

Above course curriculum will be grouped into 04-Certificates and conducted  for the convenience of  students/participants.

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September INTAKE:
AITT – Advance Certificate Course in Port Management and Port Operations,
(Introduction to sea ports and Sri-Lanka Ports Authority, Types of ships & navigation service, Receiving ship by the port/administration, Terminal operations and cargo handling equipments, EDI-Information flow, terminal ship/yard planning, Time in port & productivity including tour of the Colombo port.)
Batch-IV (Intake 30-students) duration 14-Saturdays from 02.00 pm to 06.00 pm – 56-hours.
Registrations close on 15th, September, 2010.
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AITT – Advance Certificate Course in  Customs, Border Control, Export/Import Procedures.
(Customs Department  functionalities, W.C.O. Facilitation, Customs Ordinance  &  Other Related Laws, Restrictions, Prohibiitions, I.C.L., C.D.D.A, S.L.S.I., Procedures &  Services of the Customs Department, F.T.A. Benefits, BOI, IPR, E-Commerce & Customs).
Batch -II (Intake 30- students) duration 14-Sundays from 02.00 pm. to 06.00 pm – 56 hours.
Registrations close on 15th,September, 2010.
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AITT- UNESCAP, foundation Course on Multi-modal Transport and Logistics.
Batch-III (Intake 30-students only), duration 06-Saturdays from 08.30 am to 12.30 pm. – 25-hours.
Registration close on 18th,October, 2010.

AITT – Awards Diploma and Certificates to its course participants at the SLFFA Annual General Meeting held on the monday the 28th,June, 2010 at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Auditorium amidst a full attendance of the members of Freight Forwarding Association / Logistics Industry, in Sri-Lanka.

AITT Panel of Visiting Lecturers.

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