International freight forwarding specialist

Apprenticeship summary

Occupation summary

This occupation is found in the UK and across the world in the freight services industry. Freight forwarding organisations deal with both imports and exports and are found exclusively in the private sector. They are concentrated at or near airports, seaports, distribution centres and inland customs clearance facilities. These businesses vary in size and in the number of employees they have, ranging from small, single site, freight forwarding businesses serving a small number of clients, through medium-sized companies with a number of UK locations and multiple clients, to divisions of large European or global logistics companies serving a large, diverse customer base.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to support the movement of goods between countries. Freight forwarding specialists book shipments and prepare the documentation required to move goods in and out of the UK and countries anywhere in the world. They ensure that the goods are shipped in accordance with all relevant customs and regulatory regimes. Shipments are organised and booked using online systems and electronic and paper documentation which has to accompany the goods, is prepared. They use in-house IT systems and on-line sources to find information about relevant customs rules, regulations and terms of trade. They escalate problems and issues to senior staff in their organisation. This ensures that the company they work for and their clients remain compliant with all applicable customs, import and export laws and regulations. This is an office-based role, mostly in normal working hours, but with occasional work outside those hours.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with colleagues in their own company, their customers and also with staff in a range of private sector organisations in the UK and abroad. This includes handling agents, ports agents, hauliers and shipping lines. They may also deal directly with staff from public sector organisations such as government departments and customs and revenue services.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for making the shipment bookings required to move customers goods internationally and within the UK. They identify, choose and book the most appropriate transport services (air, ocean, road and rail) to undertake the journey. International freight forwarding is often a balancing act between time, cost and environmental concerns. Other responsibilities include the monitoring of the progress of shipments, dealing with the consequences of delays, preparing and submitting sales quotations for international shipments and preparing invoices in compliance with international trade rules. Effective communication with customers ensures that they are kept informed of the progress of shipments. Most freight forwarding specialists work as part of small teams. Typically they will move regularly between duties in the occupation, for example customs entry or invoicing. In this way they gain experience across all aspects of the occupation. This is most common in large companies while in small organisations they may work on all aspects of the occupation at the same time. They work with colleagues to prepare and check documents and if they identify issues and risks, they will escalate them to the appropriate person in their company. All International freight forwarding specialists have direct responsibility for goods in transit across the UK (for instance from a warehouse to the channel tunnel, port or airport). Foreign transit is very complex due to the different rules and systems in force in each country around the world. Therefore, when goods are in transit abroad, a person in this occupation will typically specialise in either air freight, ocean freight or international road freight. This means that, in some cases, an international freight forwarding specialist will be personally responsible for the transit of goods from start to finish; but in instances where multi-modal transport is needed, they will more typically need to liaise with others in the team to provide handovers and ensure a seamless journey. This Apprenticeship Occupational Standard therefore takes a core and options approach. All apprentices will complete the core and their employer must select the one, most appropriate, option to their role, from the air, ocean or road freight routes. An apprentice following the Air option will communicate with external customers, suppliers and internal stakeholders. They will develop their IT skills by using various programmes required to process a shipment bespoke to the company. They will typically be dealing with airlines to seek solutions, pricing and book air freight services. They ensure that the correct paperwork is supplied and all movements are compliant with customs and aviation security regulations. An apprentice following the Ocean option will typically contact shipping lines to price and book space on ships (for containers or loose cargo) and ensure the correct bills of lading and shipping instructions are in place. An apprentice following the Road option will typically contact road haulage companies for information regarding their collections and deliveries, primarily to and from the EU, and checking border crossing and customs documentation is in place. They may be required to obtain quotations for road freight services.

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