Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Center (APEC) is starting training activities in Brazil
APEC, The training and education center of the Flemish ports will organize local training programs in several Brazilian ports. With this initiative APEC will meet the demand of the Brazilian maritime sector for special port training programs, such as those APEC has organized for its international clientele in Antwerp for many years now, the company reported.
The commitment of APEC was sealed at a ceremony on September 11, 2013 in the Belgian embassy in Brasilia. Here, the Antwerp port alderman Marc Van Peel, who is also chairman of the board of APEC and Paul Verkoyen, CEO of APEC, also signed a cooperation agreement with the Brazilian minister of ports, José Leonidas Cristino, in the presence of Ambassador Jozef Smets. The signing was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Ports (SEP - Secretaria Especial de Portos) and ANTAQ (the federal agency for water transport), delegates from several ports and various other guests.
In his speech port alderman Marc Van Peel underlined the importance of continuing education. “The port sector is a complex whole with influences from both the international dimension (trade flows) and on a local level (socio-economic role in the region). Catering to these changes to a maximum degree is therefore the challenge these ports constantly and consistently have to face”, said Van Peel. Sound training in the various aspects of port management and development, and specialized training in port and logistics-oriented sub-areas, are the building blocks for a successful development of national port sector on the one hand and individual ports on the other.
The courses are part of the planning involving the implementation of the new Brazilian port legislation, but also cater to an increased demand for specialized training in the port sector. A first pilot program is already planned for November, in collaboration with the Port Authority of Rio de Janeiro and the Brazilian Ministry of Ports. In 2014 six courses will be available in Brazil. Apart from management courses it was also emphasized that in a second phase the focus will be on a training program for dock workers. The Brazilian Ministry of Ports has also asked APEC to set up a Train the Trainer program in Antwerp in 2014.
Referring to the 70 countries that rely on APEC annually, CEO Paul Verkoyen also emphasized the important role played by the port of Antwerp and the other Flemish ports in the international arena by making their knowledge and expertise available to the global port community. He also stressed that APEC-Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Center can boast of the input of +- 400 experts/companies from the public and private port sector.
