This apprenticeship has options. This document is currently showing the following option:
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.
| Duty | KSBs |
|---|---|
|
Duty 1 Make international shipment bookings for customer goods, which balance time, cost and environmental impact. |
|
|
Duty 2 Monitor the progress of shipments to ensure they are on time and in line with the requirements of the booking. |
|
|
Duty 3 Use appropriate methods of communication to keep customers informed about shipment progress in line with the booking and advise customers in the event of delays to enable them to make contingency plans. |
|
|
Duty 4 Prepare quotes for customers regarding the shipment of goods, both within the UK and internationally. |
K1 K2 K3 K4 K6 K7 K8 K9 K10 K11 K13 K14 K15 K16 K17 K18 K19 K20 K21 K22 |
|
Duty 5 Enter details of booked shipments into own organisation's electronic operating system. |
|
|
Duty 6 Co-ordinate own activities with those of internal colleagues to meet operational priorities. |
|
|
Duty 7 Manage cost throughout the whole shipment from despatch to final destination. |
|
|
Duty 8 Ensure that any specific documents required by a destination country are available at time of shipment. (e.g. Certificate of Origin, Carnet). |
|
|
Duty 9 Respond to enquiries from colleagues, customers and authorities about shipments. |
|
|
Duty 10 Manage complaints about shipments, escalating to senior staff in own organisation where necessary. |
|
|
Duty 11 Submit a customs declaration and/or provide clearance instructions to a third-party customs broker. |
|
| Duty | KSBs |
|---|---|
|
Duty 12 Assess and provide recommendations to customers on international air freight options, including cost, time, airport and country specific regulations, tariffs and any other unique requirements that impact. |
K1 K3 K7 K9 K10 K11 K13 K14 K15 K17 K18 K19 K20 K22 K23 K24 K25 K26 K27 K28 K29 |
|
Duty 13 Book and process air freight by determining the relevancy of air freight services, matching the nature of goods for international air transit with the availability of space and appropriate services. |
|
|
Duty 14 Arrange and ensure the security of goods during international air transit to required standards, both in terms of the contract and in accordance with international aviation security rules and regulations. |
|
| Duty | KSBs |
|---|---|
|
Duty 15 Assess and provide recommendations to customers on international ocean freight options, including cost, time, and the port and country specific regulations, tariffs and any other unique requirements that impact. |
K1 K3 K7 K9 K10 K11 K13 K14 K15 K17 K18 K19 K20 K22 K30 K31 K32 K33 K34 K35 |
|
Duty 16 Book and process ocean freight by determining the practicality of transporting goods by sea, matching the nature of goods for international ocean transit with the availability and suitability of the equipment and resources such as shipping containers, that will be needed. |
|
|
Duty 17 Create and handle the correct Bill of Lading for export and imports (contract of carriage), thereby helping to ensure the cargo can be released to the customer as applicable. |
|
| Duty | KSBs |
|---|---|
|
Duty 18 Assess and provide recommendations to customers on international road freight options, including cost, time, and the road networks and country specific regulations, tariffs and any other unique requirements that impact. |
K1 K3 K7 K9 K10 K11 K13 K14 K15 K17 K18 K19 K20 K22 K36 K37 K38 K39 K40 K41 |
|
Duty 19 Book and process road freight by determining the practicality of transporting goods by road, by matching the nature of goods for international road transit with the nature and availability of road transport equipment and service schedules. |
|
|
Duty 20 Monitor the impact of international road transit times, road conditions and road features, providing guidance to colleagues and customers as required. For example, this could involve the impact on permitted driver hours and associated service solutions. |
|
K1: The structure and functions of the freight forwarding industry.
Back to Duty
K2: The principle of the consolidation of goods.
Back to Duty
K3: Country specific factors that influence freight forwarding, including world geography, political boundaries, time zones and transit times and their influence on modal selection.
Back to Duty
K4: The function of the key regulatory organisations and trade associations in logistics and international freight forwarding.
Back to Duty
K5: Domestic and cargo booking procedures including haulage to and from departure and arrival ports.
Back to Duty
K6: The differing environmental impacts of road, ocean, and air transport.
Back to Duty
K7: Factors that affect insurance premiums including origin destination, mode of transport, route, commodity.
Back to Duty
K8: The principles of carriers liability.
Back to Duty
K9: Dangerous and hazardous goods and the specific modal restrictions applied to their movement.
Back to Duty
K10: The function of documentary letters of credit in reducing financial risk in international trade.
Back to Duty
K11: The differences in how goods are moved under the different customs controls that apply to and from the UK and the purpose, function, and range of procedure codes.
Back to Duty
K12: Direct and indirect customs representation and the rules of establishment.
Back to Duty
K13: The structure and key contents of the UK Trade Tariff.
Back to Duty
K14: Data sources for the preferences and trade agreements that may apply in international trade, including rules of origin.
Back to Duty
K15: The terms of international trade rules (Incoterms) and their part in customs valuation and financial risk transfer.
Back to Duty
K16: Techniques for pricing, spot-quoting, invoicing and accruals.
Back to Duty
K17: Written communication techniques, plain English principles, including Industry terminology.
Back to Duty
K18: Verbal communication techniques, giving and receiving information, matching style to audience, barriers to communication and how to overcome them.
Back to Duty
K19: Own companies customer service standards and complaints handling process.
Back to Duty
K20: Techniques for forming and maintaining business relationships.
Back to Duty
K21: Principle of value build-up in customs documentation.
Back to Duty
K22: Currency conversions, exchange rates and risks on pricing and invoicing calculations.
Back to Duty
K23: Air. The terminology used in air freight services.
Back to Duty
K24: Air. The structure and organisation of the air freight industry.
Back to Duty
K25: Air. The role of regulatory organisations in world-wide air freight, including airport authorities and handling agents.
Back to Duty
K26: Air. Documentation specific to international air freight, including air waybills and where to find industry information and data from systems regarding schedules and space availability.
Back to Duty
K27: Air. Air Cargo Tariff and Rules (TACT) and OAG World Airways Guides.
Back to Duty
K28: Air. The rules and regulations relating to aviation security
Back to Duty
K29: Air. Different ULD (Unit Load Device) types, their purpose and usage.
Back to Duty
K30: Ocean. The terminology used in ocean freight services.
Back to Duty
K31: Ocean. Documentation specific to international ocean freight, including; Bills of Lading/sea waybills, export cargo shipping instructions.
Back to Duty
K32: Ocean. The structure and organisation of the ocean freight industry.
Back to Duty
K33: Ocean. The role of regulatory organisations in world-wide shipping including port authorities.
Back to Duty
K34: Ocean. The purpose and usages of the different container types and their respective benefits.
Back to Duty
K35: Ocean. Non-containerised ocean shipments
Back to Duty
K36: Road. The terminology used in international road freight services.
Back to Duty
K37: Road. The structure and organisation of the international road freight industry.
Back to Duty
K38: Road. The role of regulatory organisations in international road freight.
Back to Duty
K39: Road. Driving hours regulations and working times in the UK and internationally.
Back to Duty
K40: Road. Documentation specific to international road freight services, including; road consignment notes (CMRs) and vehicle movement documentation.
Back to Duty
K41: Road. The principles of load planning and vehicle or container loading.
Back to Duty
S1: Select freight forwarding services based on customer requirements, taking into account country specific factors, delivery times and modes.
Back to Duty
S2: Use generic or bespoke ICT systems in order to enter and monitor data on importing or exporting goods.
Back to Duty
S3: Book, plan and monitor international shipments, using manual or ICT systems, in accordance with the rules and regulations that apply to that area of the world and to the goods consigned.
Back to Duty
S4: Prepare a customs declaration to a national standard, or give custom clearance instructions to a third party.
Back to Duty
S5: Use data systems to submit the information required by customs authorities as part of the management of the international movement of goods.
Back to Duty
S6: Produce freight costings and invoices in line with Incoterms, customer profile or sales contract.
Back to Duty
S7: Identify and source data from customers, systems or colleagues.
Back to Duty
S8: Identify and resolve problems in line with responsibilities.
Back to Duty
S9: Create and maintain productive working relationships with internal and external customers.
Back to Duty
S10: Adapt communication based on the situation and the audience.
Back to Duty
S11: Identify problems outside of limits of responsibility and escalate within company policy.
Back to Duty
S12: Communicate in writing, preparing communications on technical matters.
Back to Duty
S13: Communicate with others verbally, including internal and external customers.
Back to Duty
S14: Air. Use and adapt terminology appropriate to the air freight industry.
Back to Duty
S15: Air. Select and use documentation appropriate to the air freight industry.
Back to Duty
S16: Ocean. Use and adapt terminology appropriate to the ocean freight industry.
Back to Duty
S17: Ocean. Select and use documentation appropriate to the ocean freight industry.
Back to Duty
S18: Road. Use and adapt terminology appropriate to the road freight industry.
Back to Duty
S19: Road. Select and use documentation appropriate to the road freight industry.
Back to Duty
B1: Takes accountability for own actions
Back to Duty
B2: Commercially driven
Back to Duty
B3: Flexible in response to client needs and requirements
Back to Duty
B4: Takes personal responsibility for their own sustainable working practices
Back to Duty
B5: Collaborate with others for example, within teams, across disciplines, and external stakeholders
Back to Duty
Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the End-Point Assessment. For those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement, the apprenticeship’s English and maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3. A British Sign Language (BSL) qualification is an alternative to the English qualification for those whose primary language is BSL.
| Version | Change detail | Earliest start date | Latest start date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Occupational standard, end-point assessment plan and funding band revised but remained the same. | 18/09/2023 | Not set |
| 1.0 | Approved for delivery | 20/04/2018 | 17/09/2023 |
Crown copyright © 2025. You may re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. Visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence