Shipping agent to international forwarding operations coordinator
A shipping agent already meets 32% of what the international forwarding operations coordinator role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
65.1/ 100
1 How much of what an international forwarding operations coordinator is expected to do is already part of a shipping agent’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the international forwarding operations coordinator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An international forwarding operations coordinator role treats 6 of its required skills as things a shipping agent already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply procedures to ensure cargo complies with customs regulations
- control trade commercial documentation
- coordinate export transportation activities
- coordinate import transportation activities
- liaise with transportation services
- manage import export licenses
What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An international forwarding operations coordinator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a shipping agent background worth leading with.
- already held liaise with transportation services communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage import export licenses information skills
- already held apply procedures to ensure cargo complies with customs regulations assisting and caring
- already held coordinate export transportation activities management skills
- already held coordinate import transportation activities management skills
- already held control trade commercial documentation assisting and caring
All 6 carried skills, including the 6 the international forwarding operations coordinator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn foster relationships with various types of carrier required
- still to learn work in a logistics team required
- still to learn write routine reports required
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- optional, not held perform services in a flexible manner optional
- optional, not held show intercultural awareness optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
- still to learn assess carriers required
- still to learn manage carriers required
- still to learn set import export strategies required
- optional, not held tolerate stress optional
- still to learn perform ICT troubleshooting required
- optional, not held have computer literacy optional
- still to learn respond to requests for logistics services from all over the world required
- still to learn international business required
- still to learn analyse work-related written reports required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an international forwarding operations coordinator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 respond to requests for logistics services from all over the world practise this
- 02 assess carriers practise this
- 03 foster relationships with various types of carrier practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 6 skills that carry over
- already held apply procedures to ensure cargo complies with customs regulations skill
- already held control trade commercial documentation skill
- already held coordinate export transportation activities skill
- already held coordinate import transportation activities skill
- already held liaise with transportation services skill
- already held manage import export licenses skill
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held tolerate stress optional
- optional, not held have computer literacy optional
- optional, not held perform services in a flexible manner optional
- optional, not held show intercultural awareness optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
19 held skills the international forwarding operations coordinator role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role administer multi-modal logistics skill
- not needed by the target role analyse shipping rates skill
- not needed by the target role book cargo skill
- not needed by the target role comply with regulations related to export in different countries skill
- not needed by the target role create import-export commercial documentation skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with port regulations skill
- not needed by the target role handle shipment paperwork skill
- not needed by the target role inspect freight skill
- not needed by the target role international import export regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep up-to-date to current customs regulations skill
- not needed by the target role keep written records of cargo skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with port users skill
- not needed by the target role make bids in forward auctions skill
- not needed by the target role observe freight shipment loaders skill
- not needed by the target role oversee arrival and departure of ships into port skill
- not needed by the target role port regulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare bills of lading skill
- not needed by the target role provide advice to clients in terms of export restrictions skill
- not needed by the target role provide advice to clients in terms of import restrictions skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn international business required
Common questions about this move
Can a shipping agent become an international forwarding operations coordinator?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A shipping agent already covers 32% of what an international forwarding operations coordinator is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 6 of which the international forwarding operations coordinator role treats as required.
What skills does a shipping agent need to become an international forwarding operations coordinator?
11 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is respond to requests for logistics services from all over the world.
How hard is the move from shipping agent to international forwarding operations coordinator?
Its learning distance is 65.1 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.