SAJ praised for training excellence

The Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) has received high praise for fostering learning and team building in the shipping industry and wider community through a series of training workshops undertaken in recent weeks. Special mention has been made of the SAJ's most recent training initiative, a workshop for professionals entitled 'Mastering Microsoft Excel'.

The six-day series took participants through the most basic stages of building competence, to the intermediate, culminating in the advanced levels of the spreadsheet programme Excel. Thirty-four persons from companies engaged in the shipping, logistics, and scientific research sectors took part in the series.

Denise Lyn Fatt, SAJ vice-president and managing director of Freight Handlers Limited, whose company had five participants throughout the three levels, said that "the workshop created a great team-building opportunity". She stressed the fact that "it is important for managers to be involved in team-building processes".

"I think it is important that our teams know that we are not afraid to learn alongside them". Lyn Fatt reiterated. "My staff always sees where we are willing to do things with them, and I think if more managers and owners did that, they would find that the productivity would be positively affected."

NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

Keneisha Irving of the Scientific Research Council, who was the only non-shipping industry participant, said that she "learned a lot" and she would "definitely be recommending SAJ workshops" to her colleagues and other professionals.

In her vote of thanks to the trainer at the closing exercise, Irving acknowledged that "Microsoft Excel is an efficient tool that can be used across all sectors and in personal planning".

She added: "Although I had a good understanding of Excel, there is always a better way to do things, so I found the training useful in that respect."

Group chief Financial officer of the Lannaman and Morris Group of companies, Evroy Johnson, who attended the advanced-level workshop, lauded the SAJ workshops for "creating networking opportunities for professionals inside and outside of the shipping industry".

"Personal development," he continued, "and continuous development are very important. As part of a group of young leaders in the industry, we're happy to see this. We will use this opportunity provided by the Shipping Association to continue to develop our employees so that the employees and the organisations in which we work remain competitive and efficient."

With regard to the trainer, Racquel Jones, Johnson thanked the presenter and shared that "despite the rigorous material, the delivery made learning easy. Other lecturers can definitely learn from her methods."

Due to overwhelming demand, Dorraine Wright, the SAJ's training manager, said that the series would be offered again later in the year to give other members and the wider business community the opportunity to participate. The SAJ, she added, plans to offer training sessions in protocol and cybersecurity, customer service, and public speaking, among other topics.