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Secretariat


Meet the training delivery team


Carl Hobbis, Executive Director, introduces the team who are delivering BIFA freight and customs training and assessment sessions every week


Demand for training has exploded in the last 12- 18 months due, in part, to the need for Customs knowledge in a post EU-Exit landscape. However, there had already been steady growth mainly due to the introduction of the Freight Forwarding Specialist apprentice standard in 2018.


The team delivering BIFA training each have over 25 years’ forwarding and Customs experience; they are all qualified trainers and receive a lot of plaudits and positive feedback every week from delegates complimenting them on their delivery style and the interactive nature of the courses.


They love what they do, giving their knowledge back in a helpful and under-stated way to delegates who attend any of our four face-to-face freight and Customs courses or qualifications.


Since taking the leap from frontline forwarding


to a different type of frontline as a trainer, they have all made the transition very well. I am immensely proud of them all and it is my pleasure to introduce them to you.


Graeme Wilkinson


Graeme, who is based at Feltham, joined BIFA in 2017 and helped me re-design all the course materials when we took over the training from


the external contractor. Graeme has a creative streak and pre-pandemic we were all in awe of the quality of his flipcharts, but even though they were top-notch what delegates really love is Graeme’s friendly delivery style for which he receives lots of compliments. Graeme’s career began at the Animal Quarantine station at Heathrow in 1991, but he moved to forwarding in 1996, the year football never quite came home, kicking off his career with a position at Emery. Graeme later went on to spend five years at CH Robinson and then seven years at both MIQ Logistics and Korean logistics company Pantos. Interests: Outside of family life, one of Graeme’s hobbies is fishing. In fact, this was the subject of his ‘micro session’ when he qualified as a trainer.


Claire Capaccioli


Almost exactly a year later in September 2018, Claire was the next addition to the team, based in the northwest. Claire’s appointment followed the introduction of the International Freight Forwarding Specialist Apprenticeship standard to support Graeme and myself in delivering the increased demand for BIFA training courses. Claire has a vast amount of freight forwarding and Customs experience and was active in regional meetings prior to joining BIFA. She


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Graeme Wilkinson


started her career in 1991 at Kintetsu World Express, then seven years later moved to Yusen Logistics where she spent 20 years. She is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and is currently studying for a Diploma in World Customs Compliance. Interests: Claire is a keen traveller and is also a volunteer for industry charity Transaid.


Liz Sumner


In 2019, as demand continued to increase, Liz became our third full-time trainer, joining from DSV Air and Sea. With Liz’s appointment we now had trainers based in Manchester, Birmingham and Feltham, enabling us to deliver more training days for our Members by reducing travel time. Like Graeme and Claire, Liz has over 25 years of experience, the majority with BAX Global and DB Schenker, including supervisory roles covering imports, Customs, customer service and key account management. Liz has done a remarkable job since joining


BIFA; she had only been delivering sessions face-to-face for a couple of months and had just started the BTECs when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and, like most things, training came to a grinding halt. Liz is also an active supporter of the BIFA Young Forwarder Network. Interests: Liz will openly admit her number one priority, outside of work, is her dog Nellie.


COVID-19 impact As with everyday life for most, the imposition of the first national lockdown in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic caused immense


20 June 2021


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