Transport harmonisation central to CILT ambition
THE Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) held its 2018 Presidential Address at the National Maritime College of Ireland in Ringaskiddy.
CILT Ireland welcomed members and stakeholders to the 2018 CILT Presidential Address, which was delivered by the President of CILT Ireland Ms Helen Noble FCILT. The event also saw award of Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (FCILT). bestowed on eminent figures from the Logistics, Transport and Supply Chain Industries in Ireland.
The Presidential Address was opened by Mr Conor Mowlds, Head of the National Maritime College of Ireland.
The official welcome was provided by Dr Barry O’Connor, President of the Cork Institute of Technology, of which the National Maritime College of Ireland is a constituent college.
Ms Helen Noble FCILT, was then invited to deliver her Presidential Address on the theme of “Thought Leadership CILT.”
Ms Noble, who is herself a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, became the President of CILT in October 2017.
Ms Noble is Ireland’s foremost expert in Maritime Law, she is a dual Irish and English practising solicitor with more than 23 years experience specialising in all areas of maritime and transport law.
Helen is a legal trainer on UNCTAD’s “Train for Trade” programme. She is a titulary member of the Comité Maritime International, a former Director of the Port of Waterford and the Irish representative for ForwarderLaw.com.
In terms of her vision for her two-year term as president, Helen articulated a keen intention to ensure that CILT is clearly identifiable as the membership body for all professionals within the transport, logistics and supply chain sector and that CILT links the commonalities of each.
This includes those involved in the areas of travel and planning, aviation, bus and coach transport, freight forwarding, logistics and supply chain, operations management, ports, maritime and waterways, rail and transport planning.
This level of harmonisation is essential to ensure consistency in high professional and educational standards and an industry that works in a cohesive and seamless manner.
She said: “I think it is fair to say that we have reached a point where the outward perception of CILT is that we are too focused on one or two areas of the sector to the exclusion of others. We shall work to identify and be recognised as thought leaders throughout these sectors.”
Helen shared: “A thought leader, according to Joel Kurtzman, the founding editor-in-chief of Strategy+Business magazine coined the term in 1994, is recognised by peers, customers and industry experts as someone who deeply understands the business they are in, the needs of their customers and the broader marketplace in which they operate. They have distinctively original ideas, unique points of view and new insights.”
Helen’s vision and strategy ‘is to put leaders at the heart of our activities.’
“When we build a strong membership from the top, this will have a cascading effect. It ensures we can deliver tangible benefits to all members by providing access to knowledge across all sectors, it provides the key to unlocking consistently high-quality standards, it means CILT can be the voice of the profession providing that independent expertise when called upon to so and also be a collective voice for the industry.
“It also means we can provide those joining our organisation at the start of their careers or on the career journey with real opportunities, development, mentoring. We need to build the reputation of CILT so that Chartered status once again is an accolade our members aspire to achieving.”
