Education presentations at this year’s International Convention focused on the key areas of Standards, Mentoring, and the Development of Young Professionals (YPs)
Throughout the event delegates were able to engage at the Education Information Stand, and there was a chance to see the ‘Business on the Move’ game in action. Many contributed to the ‘Knowledge Village’ display by bringing examples of their own CILT training and development programmes, sparking good dialogue about the export of existing programmes to other CILT Branches and Territories.
Education and Professional Development are a key part of CILT’s core mission. These themes featured prominently throughout Convention, starting with a Mentoring session at the Young Professionals Conference on day one. You can read the main presentation and feedback reports here but the key highlights were:
- Mentoring is vital to the development of Young Professionals and is a fundamental part of the CILT philosophy and approach
- Good mentors are open, honest and objective, easy to approach and available for support at every stage of a Young Professional’s career development
- Mentees benefit from a variety of approaches, both formal and informal
- The value of a CILT mentor comes from their global outlook, industry experience and technical expertise
- The mentoring process requires a defined framework and guidelines for success
The conference showcased examples of best practice in setting up in-company mentoring programmes. The Queensland Rail initiative presented by Jenna Hood powerfully demonstrated how YPs really help other YPs.
An insight into all CILT’s latest education projects was provided by Jan Steenberg and Jon Harris during the International Council Meeting. The highlight of their report was the official launch of the updated Key Knowledge Areas used to support the development and recognition of degree courses leading to Chartered Membership grade.
A panel of over 100 experts was consulted in a process led by Jon Harris and Dorothea Carvalho. Their work ensures the refreshed KKAs cover the breadth and depth of knowledge required to make professionals effective in the field of logistics and transport both today and tomorrow. Covering generic areas and technical specialist areas, the KKAs also recognise the importance of customer focused and continuous improvement principles across all activities within our industry sectors. The new guidelines and standards will help us move forward with our education partners over the next 5 years.
The KKAs will also be supported by a series of tools and guides which will be released later in Summer 2017 and made available through the website.
For more information about use of the KKAs in the UK please contact Dorothea Carvalho. For International enquiries please contact Jon Harris
The education session also reviewed the International Education Strategy and considered our approach on process, product development, pricing and fees, professional development and raising the Institute’s profile through education. This important feedback is being collated and will be available on the education pages of the International website.
To find out more about the education issues discussed at Convention please get in touch with Jon Harris, International Professional Development Co-ordinator.
