Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) has announced a milestone collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) to provide job-based training opportunities for young people aspiring to careers in logistics and transport.
A Memorandum of Understanding ratified by the two organisations paves the way for CILT to be the liaison between educational institutes and CICT, and for CICT to provide industrial exposure, training and employment opportunities to the candidates sourced by CILT.
The objective of the partnership, initially for a year, is to source potential and qualified candidates for the Management Trainee pool of CICT and to train and develop aspiring youth for future leadership roles in the industry as an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiative of CICT that contributes to society.
Commenting on this initiative, CICT CEO Mr Jack Huang said: “CICT and CILT are united by common interests and objectives, which makes this collaboration a true win-win for both organisations. It will generate major benefits to the student community to enhance skills and knowledge, and will provide insights into the latest developments and requirements of the industry for the benefit of everyone.”
As part of its commitment to the programme CICT has agreed to permit the students of CILT to visit the Company and to participate in industrial training programmes that will build confidence and prepare the students to make a smooth transition from academics to working careers. CILT has undertaken to provide its professional expertise for the hands-on training of the learners enrolled with CICT, with a focus on emerging technologies in order to bridge the gap in skills and make them ready for the industry.
CILT, which traces its origins to the establishment of the Chartered Institute of Transport (CIT) in Sri Lanka in 1984, is currently governed by a Council consisting of professionals representing all segments of the Transport and Logistics industry and is one of the eight Chartered Institutes that make up the Forum of Chartered Institutes (FCI). Its principal objective is to promote, encourage and co-ordinate the study of the science and art of Logistics and Transport in all its branches.
CICT manages the South Terminal of the Port of Colombo, the first and only operating deep-water terminal in South Asia, which is equipped with facilities to handle the largest vessels afloat. Since its inception in 2014, the terminal has incrementally grown the volume it has handled; from 686,639 teus in 2014, to just over 3.2 million teus in 2021. CICT has been recognised as the best container terminal in Asia in the under 4 million TEUs category for six consecutive years from 2017 to 2022 at the Asian Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain (AFLAS) awards.
CICT is the flagship overseas terminal of China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited (CMPort). CMPort is the largest and a globally-competitive public port developer, investor and operator in China with investments in Mainland China, Hong Kong and overseas. CMPort has a port network portfolio spanning 50 ports in 26 countries and regions. Guided by the vision “To be a world class comprehensive port service provider” and supported by its domestic, overseas and innovation strategies, CMPort strives to strengthen its core competencies in global throughput, port service and management.