Praveeni Perera’s journey into international trade began when she was managing international development projects while working for a non-profit.  This ignited her interest in intercultural relations leading her to pursue an MBA in International Business. Upon completion of her post graduate degree, Praveeni  started  her own consulting company specializing in international expansions. 

I really enjoy meeting business people from around the world and learning about doing business in different cultures.

Praveeni’s creative and entrepreneurial spirit have led her to experience a wide variety of career highlights and accomplishments. 

Meeting business leaders and Bollywood stars

Early in her career, Praveeni took on an internship in Colombo, Sri Lanka to be part of the team organizing a Global Business Forum for the International Film Academy Awards held in Sri Lanka that year. The highlight of this experience was not only getting to meet business leaders from around the world but also seeing some of her favourite Bollywood stars. 

A plethora of career highlights and accomplishments

It was a great honor and pleasure for Praveeni to represent Canada at the OECD last year. She was the Project Manager for Canada on an international study the OECD was organizing on social and emotional skills in children.  

 As part of her education, Praveeni decided to pursue a certification in international protocol and attended the Protocol School of Washington. This proved to be a unique and memorable experience as some of her classmates included a protocol head at the Pentagon and a crew member of Air Force One.  

“I even have some souvenirs from Air Force One, this was during the Obama administration, so they all have his signature.” 

Among Praveeni’s cherished experiences is teaching the International Business Management graduate certificate program at Algonquin College where she gets to meet and teach new international students every year.  

“I truly enjoy this experience and look forward to meeting new students each semester.” 

Writing the book on relationship building

Praveeni wishes she had known the importance of networking and building relationships when she first started out in international trade. She views it as essential to network and develop a rapport with others among your target market as that can facilitate your expansion plans.  

Relationships are so important in international trade as having a rapport with someone in your target market can make your expansion or exporting activities so much easier.

Praveeni is so passionate about this aspect of career building that she wrote and published a book on it,  “Cocktails & Conversations: a guide to networking.” 

Another valuable nugget of advice from Praveeni is to appreciate cultural differences. Being born in Sri Lanka and raised in Canada, she was fortunate to experience the best of both worlds. 

Broadening the horizons of her knowledge

The logical next step for Praveeni was to sign up for the industry recognized FITTskills training in international trade.  

I really enjoyed taking the FITT skills courses as they helped strengthen and broaden my understanding of international trade. I found the course content easy to navigate and the textbooks were convenient and easy to read.

“My favourite course was International Sales and Marketing.” 

As Praveeni thoroughly enjoys marketing, this course was a great refresher for her. She particularly loved learning about how companies have adapted their products or services to better suit a specific market. She found that she could apply many of the useful pointers in there to the  fashion and lifestyle blog that she runs as a hobby. 

Praveeni applied for and was awarded the CITP designation in June 2020, viewing it as the perfect addition to her qualifications.  

Having worked in international trade for many years and completed my MBA in international business I thought the CITP would be a great complement to my current skill set.

What adds to the sense of excitement and accomplishment on earning the CITP designation is the fact that Praveeni completed four of the six courses that make up the educational requirement of the designation during the COVID-19 lockdown. 

Along with being a great addition to her existing skill set, the CITP lends the perfect finishing touch to her education in international trade.  

I hope to continue my work and consulting in international business and I definitely feel the CITP designation helps with building trust and credibility with potential clients.

Praveeni also gives back to the global business community by teaching the International Business Program at Algonquin College.  

With her ambition and deep knowledge of international trade, we have no doubt that Praveeni’s expertise will help her shine as she goes on to accomplish everything that she has set her mind on.   

The post CITP Spotlight: Praveeni Perera – Professor, Algonquin College appeared first on Trade Ready.

Karmesh Patel first became interested in international trade during childhood. His interest was twofold, as he was fascinated by trade’s importance to both the global economy and international development.

“Growing up, I was always passionate to learn about importing and exporting and how the world economy relies on international trade. I also strongly believe that before the rapid development of technology that we see today, it was the international movement of goods and people that helped spread international culture and language. When you look into history, many civilizations were developed near oceans and international borders, since they were able to capitalize on transportation of goods and people.”

To pursue this interest as a career path, he earned his Bachelors of Commerce from Ryerson University, with a specialization in global management studies. During his studies, he worked on projects that gave him his first experience of what exporting companies have to deal with on a daily basis, and won a Global Citizen award from the school for his accomplishments both in the classroom and the community. After finishing his degree, he then also earned a post-graduate certificate in international development from Humber College.

Moving halfway around the world to pursue his career goals

Once he completed his studies, Karmesh wanted to improve his knowledge of international business and cultures, and decided the best way to do so would be to gain international experience. To do so, he accepted a position as Program Manager with the TATU Project, based on Moshi, Tanzania.

The organization’s focus is sustainable development in rural communities in northern Tanzania. His responsibilities mainly involved managing project finances, social business projects and the transport of goods to the rural communities he worked with. The final of these responsibilities led to one of the most memorable stories of his career to date.

“One of the major bridges we crossed on a regular basis was under construction and we were faced with a big challenge, because we needed to transport bulk goods to the community. Given that we were not provided with a concrete time frame for when the bridge would be repaired, and that we couldn’t purchase too much food in bulk, because of spoilage, we had to make some critical decisions.”

“Luckily, during the construction of the main bridge, the local administrative government built a small temporary bridge for the purpose of walking or driving via motorcycle only. When we spoke to local officials about our dilemma, local youth overheard and offered to help transport bulk bags of goods via motorcycle, since the overall goal was to help keep the local community and its businesses operating. Due to our bridge dilemma, we decided to work with the local youth to transport goods to our community stakeholders.”

“I really like this story because it shows you how community support and collaboration and help overcome any obstacle.”

Learning online at his own pace to further his career in international trade

Still passionate about international trade, he began taking the FITTskills online courses to continue learning about the industry, earn his FITT Diploma and expand his career options.

“I had a wonderful experience taking the FITTskills courses. The FITTskills courses all provided highly detailed information and really helped me further understand each area of international trade. They are perfect for anyone who is interested in gaining a broad-spectrum perspective about international trade and business. I found the material in the Global Value Chain and International Sales and Marketing courses really helped me excel in my Program Manager role with the TATU Project.”

His favourite course, International Market Entry Strategies, was also helpful for his current work and in helping him plan to make a career dream come true.

“I found learning about the research and analysis required to choose the most advantageous market entry strategy to be very fascinating. This course demonstrated the reality of what international businesses have to go through to be prepared for a new business venture.”

“Another key reason why this was my favourite course is that it has always been my goal to be part of a foreign direct investment team/organization implementing a greenfield investment in a foreign market. This course provided detailed information and helped me gain knowledge on how I can make this dream come true one day.”

Joining the Livingston team and the CITP community

Early in 2018, shortly before earning his FITT Diploma, Karmesh began his current job as a Cross Border Agent with Livingston International, one of North America’s biggest customs broker and freight forwarding companies. His responsibilities include processing electronic manifests, resolving shipment issues with CBSA (Canadian Border Services Agency) and CPB (U.S. Customs Border Protection), and ensuring shipments are in compliance with all relevant rules and regulations.

He says his role has helped him develop a better understanding of North America’s international trade traffic. His FITTskills training has also been helpful in settling into the role.

“I found that the Feasibility of International Trade course really helped me, as the course provide in-depth knowledge of creating an export plan and clearly explained import/export procedures.”

Wanting to prove himself to his clients and employer, Karmesh also successfully applied for the CITP®|FIBP® designation. He is optimistic it will help him stand out from the crowd, as well as learn from and connect with others.

“I chose to apply for the CITP designation because I wanted to join the CITP community, meet fellow designation holders and learn from some of the industry’s elite. As a young international trade professional, the designation also provides me with a further level of credibility for my employers and clients. I foresee my CITP designation playing a major role in assuring employers and clients of my credibility in international trade and business.”

With the credibility the CITP designation provides, I know I am one step closer of achieving my long term goal to implement a greenfield investment in a foreign market. I also foresee the CITP designation helping me start my own international business to help small agriculture business owners in developing countries.

The post Karmesh Patel, CITP|FIBP – Cross Border Agent appeared first on Trade Ready.

No doubt, based on your own experiences and area of specialty, you’ll have strong feelings on the subject.

But if you sit and think about it for a minute or two, is there one aspect that you would elevate above all others, or it is too hard to choose?

There are strong arguments for many aspects of importing and exporting, with each presenting many valid points. However, even when you set them all side by side, it seems almost impossible to narrow down the list.

Over the course of our International Trade Competency Standards (ICS) Project, we had many international trade experts share their wisdom and knowledge on their particular area of specialization.

Through discussion and debate, document reviews, surveys and webinars, they’ve had opportunities to talk about what they think is important in international trade, and why.

As a result, we’ve been able to gain significant insights into this question, and see what international trade professionals like you think is most important in their work.

While we can’t name all of them, here are seven areas that generated particularly high amounts of interest, discussion and debate. Will your top choice be on the list?

1. Conducting a meticulous situational analysis before you go global

Initiating business in another country is not something to be done lightly. It requires a lot of preparation, research and strategic re-orientation.

Deborah Youden, CITP, an Export Consultant with the Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs, stated,

“We want to ensure that companies who look at international markets are ready to do so, or understand and identify what needs to be done and how they can do it before they launch globally.”

It’s significant because until you examine all aspects of a business and are aware of investments needed from the company, you could be putting the company in jeopardy.

Finding the right pairing of business and market involves taking a look at both halves of the equation. If your business isn’t prepared for expansion, entering a new market could overstretch resources, cause major supply chain disruptions or leave employees overworked, among other issues.

On the other hand, businesses need to know whether there is a demand for their products or services in a new market, and whether they are legally able to do business there without overcoming significant obstacles.

Deborah says that having consistency and standards for the process, as defined by the ICS project, will be a great benefit for any company looking to go international.

2. Impeccable analysis and mitigation of all types of trade risks

There’s always a lot of risk in any element of international trade. If you don’t know what they are ahead of time, and plan for them, your business could be in big trouble.

Currency exchanges, political instability, intellectual property rights, cultural differences, economic issues – the list of risks seems to never end.

That being said, risk shouldn’t stop you from doing business internationally. When properly managed, it is simply one aspect of many incredible opportunities.

The key is to identify those risks, create backups and margins of risk, and keep both the best and worst case scenarios in mind as you broaden your international horizons.

3. Managing financing and payment for trade transactions with confidence

While the payment methods and processes of international trade are very important, there are a lot of steps that companies need to take before it occurs.

Getting financing and credit before the transaction takes place is a crucial component of any deal, as most companies do not have the liquid assets to pay to purchase international products or services out of pocket.

Having a firm sense of the skills needed to acquire that financing, secure insurance on trade deals, and negotiate the details of payment will eliminate confusion, and streamline the process.

Once companies are on the same page as to how the entire financial process occurs, negotiating the best deal can then take centre stage for your company and its business interests.

4. Master research and planning to effectively manufacture goods for export

It’s one thing to produce a product for export; producing one that meets customer demands, operates exactly as expected and is packaged to meet specifications is quite another.

Before the manufacturing process starts, companies must conduct market research to make sure that the proposed product meets market expectations and consumer demands.

Once the product comes off of the assembly line, it also needs to be tested for quality and safety assurance, and then packaged and labelled in such a way that all of its features and uses will be clear to consumers.

With such a diverse skill-set required, it’s no wonder that manufacturing has become one of the most dynamic and in-demand career paths in international trade.

5. Handling the many variables involved in the international transportation of goods

In transport, the number of variables a company has to manage are simply staggering. As Audrey Ross, CITP, Logistics and Customs Specialist for Orchard International Inc. lists:

Costs are dependent on location of pick up,   port of departure, port of destination, destination of final delivery, INCOterm contract, mode of transport, type and size of product, customs cleared or in bond for customs deferral, and remote or popular location or destination.

“Timing is also dependent on location, destination, mode of transport, type and size of product, etc.”

While it can be difficult to standardize the differences in transporting all kinds of goods, Audrey says companies can agree on the variables involved, the differences between domestic and international transportation strategies, and the types of hiring and training needed for the staff involved, among other topics.

6. Implementing effective international sales and marketing plans

As Melanie Abdel-Malak, Director, Foreign Market Development for Quebec International reminds us, “You can have a great plan, know all the customs rules and comply with all regulations, but if at the end you don’t sell anything, your project is a fail!”

She also, however, identifies that the sales process poses significant challenges to SMEs newly entering international trade because of the many skills and processes needed to ensure success.

“There is an array of aspects that one must take into considerations before getting into international sales. The main problem is that, especially for SMEs, the concentration will be more in developing the sales network rather than planning, analyzing and getting feedback.”

At the end of the day, you do not only need sales but also profits, which means there is more to sales then just selling.

With this in mind, she added that standardizing the skills needed for sales allows even experienced professionals to assess their own abilities, and gain training to fill in any competencies they may need to address.

7. Recruiting the best talent for the job

Time and time again, we hear that having the right people in the right roles can make all the difference in global trade. But how can you make sure you get the right people in place, and manage your staff across international borders?

It starts with establishing HR, recruitment and training strategies. From there, companies need to decide on key issues like compensations, benefits and performance reviews, as well as developing guidelines to send domestic employees overseas and bring them back afterwards.

Though HR professionals in global trade companies might have differing opinions as to what the best way to do each of these would be, it’s important to make sure each step is covered in the way that works best for your company’s needs.

Did any entries on this list surprise you? Is there one you would add on, or want to take off?

The post The top 7 most important skills that global trade professionals need to master according to industry experts appeared first on Trade Ready.