From November 9 to 11, 2017, the Austrian State Championships (Skills Austria) for the profession of the forwarding merchant took place for the second time at the Graz Trade Fair. The group of participants was composed of nine candidates from among the best graduates of the apprenticeship for forwarding merchant, from almost all Austrian federal states.
In the competition, which lasted a total of 16 hours (on a total of three days), the candidates presented their expertise and skills in practical tasks. Because, unlike craft trades, there is no practical piece of work for the jury to assess, so the young professionals have to complete seven different competitive modules covering the full range of forwarding services, such as customer acquisition, transportation, transport costing and complaint handling.
The winners were selected by the independent, jury of experts from all over Austria: Michaela Dužić of the Styrian forwarding company Kuehne + Nagel GesmbH, followed by Nadine Altmann (Linz AG, Upper Austria) in the second place. Third prize was given to Nadine Bausch (Spedition Thomas GmbH) and Maria Wieland (Robert Bosch AG), ex aequo.
The other participants – Jaemy Heinemann (Schenker & Co AG), Sandra Krickl (Kuehne + Nagel GesmbH), Niko Maier (Schenker & Co AG), Simon Quintus (Quehenberger Logistics), and Romana Titz (RailCargo) also showed a good performance and were honored for that.
The head of the working group for training and further education of the Forwarding & Logistics Association, Guggi Deiser, congratulated all young talents and thanked the supporters. She was particularly proud of the broad support the project has received, from the trade association, the specialist groups to the vocational schools.
“The next challenge will be the European Professional Championships in Budapest in 2018. As the first non-craft profession, the freight forwarders now also fulfill the formal requirements for participation,” says Mag. Sandra Huber, Managing Director.
