Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Industry group designs training program for export companies
RECOGNIZING the need of export companies to invest in education, the Confederation of Philippine Exporters (Philexport)-Cebu has decided to organize trainings and seminars to help its members improve efficiency and become more competitive.
The group believes that there is a need for exporters to be “export-fit” and avoid mistakes like selling the right product to the wrong market.
“Some export companies are dying because there is no structure. They venture into export and become fly-by-night entities.
They do two to three transactions with one company and then fold up,” said Philexport-Cebu executive director Fred Escalona.
“The important thing in the export business is sustainability. But the formula for it is so complex and Philexport is willing to give them that knowledge through seminars,” he added.
Apart from promoting efficiency and sustainability, Philexport also helps educate export companies about managing currency risks.
Survey
In a recent needs survey, Philexport-Cebu realized that out of the 89 local export companies it polled, more than half (56 percent) expressed interest in export management seminars. The survey also revealed that about 39 percent admitted they would require external help from organizations, such as Philexport, when it comes to consultancy and coaching.
“(Those) are good signs already. Those were the reasons we went ahead, put our feet on the pedal and train local exporters.
We have 41 of them (now),” Escalona said.
Last February, Philexport and the Center for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) of the Netherlands sponsored an Export Marketing Management Training for 41 representatives from the export sector. The group was sent to the Netherlands and Germany for “intensive” training.
Philexport discovered in a recent feasibility study conducted by its Export Training and Coaching Center that only De La Salle University in Manila offers export management courses in a “country that is hoping to be an exporting power.”
Philexport-Cebu, however, is not worried that the academe will discover and cash in on the need of exporters for training.
Escalona said that for schools to eventually offer export management courses to respond to the demand “would be good for the whole export industry.”
Dr. Alexander Delantar, president of the Council of Deans of Business Education in Central Visayas, said colleges and universities still need to conduct feasibility studies before they can offer a course.
Coming up with the course itself, he added, takes time and money as it will have to go through a long process that involves the approval of the board and the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), licensing and employment of teachers who are master degree holders.
The feasibility study should ensure that there is demand for a certain course so that students will easily find employment, said Delantar, also dean of the Cebu Institute of Technology-College of Commerce.
He said there are private higher education institutions that have been granted autonomy to offer a new course without securing a permit from Ched but others still need Ched approval. (NRC)
