UfM launches LOGISMED-TA project to promote competitiveness and job creation in the Mediterranean logistics industry

The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean will hold the Launching Conference of the LOGISMED Training Activities (LOGISMED–TA) project on 17 June, 2013 at the Palace of Pedralbes, in Barcelona. Promoted by the European Investment Bank and endorsed by the 43 member countries of the Union for the Mediterranean, the project aims at increasing the national education offer and improving the level of qualifications of logistics platforms’ operators and managers in view of generating valuable and skilled human resources to operate the platforms.

In order to reach these results, a number of actions have been defined with a regional approach and consisting of a series of seminars, technical assistance and training activities. These actions include the development of national logistics associations, cluster awareness and awareness plans targeting the administrations; the promotion of the European Logistics Associations (ELA) certification among 300 logistics professionals; the creation of a “train the trainers” program addressed at 15 staff members per logistics platform; the development of an initial pool of skilled “blue collar” personnel, including 200-400 beneficiaries per platform; and the establishment of a training unit developing continuous education programs, addressed to 200-400 workers per platform.

The target of these series of training activities will be the logistic and transport enterprises (offer of logistics services) and the loaders (demand of logistic services), the operating staff of the platforms in 5 levels of professional categories plus the platform managers, as well as the public sector of the Mediterranean partner countries. LOGISMED-TA will be implemented in ten Mediterranean Partner Countries (actions at Country level) and in five logistics platforms (actions at Platforms level), improving the performance of the logistics sector gradually in the entire region through the principle of variable geometry. The project will be initially launched in the countries where there is an urgent need for training in this field. In this regard Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia will be the first group of countries, since the feasibility studies of logistics platforms are more advanced.

LOGISMED-TA is comprised in the framework of the “Program on the Development of a Network of Euro-Mediterranean Logistics Platforms (LOGISMED)”.  LOGISMED was launched by the EIB, as part of the Regional Transport Action Plan 2007-2013 of the Euro-Med Transport cooperation program. The aim of LOGISMED is creating a network of Euro-Mediterranean Logistics Platforms working under common quality criteria and developing a private sector-friendly environment, with the public authorities playing a support and coordination role. By improving and harmonizing the transport and logistics sectors LOGISMED and LOGISMED-TA will contribute to accelerate economic development and job creation in the Southern Mediterranean countries.

LAUNCHING CONFERENCE

Information about the Launching Conference for the LOGISMED-TA project can be found here