· Prohibitive cost of compliance and shortages of technical compliance officers (tco’s) and taggers drive development of new ITC e-learning programme
· ITC E-learning reduces costs, bridging the gap for small to medium companies struggling to maintain compliance with ITC
· New ITC e-learning program standardises interpretation of Laws by tco’s and taggers globally across an entire organisation, reducing risk and improving export compliance
· ITC E-learning program helps companies to improve competitive advantage as many defence companies now will only deal with contractors with sound export control compliance programs
9 July, 2009...SO Direct is launching a new ITC e-learning program for International Trade Compliance at the Defence Systems and Equipment International Show (Stand No. 1455 Australian Pavilion, Excel, 8-11 September, 2009) on behalf of the Centre for Export Controls Excellence.
To secure a place at the launch demo at the show call Sarah Olney at SO Direct on Tel: 0800 9903077.
The ITC e-learning courses will be available in three different versions and will cover everything a technical compliance officer and tagger needs to know in order to stay compliant with International Trade Compliance (ITAR) regulations.
A typical module will comprise standard information, multiple choice tests, FAQs, webinars and access to experts online, on a continuing basis. A knowledge portal is also being developed.
Country specific licenses are being sold in the UK either direct via CFECE or through CFECE’s Northern Hemisphere ITC partner, SO Direct Ltd (see www.sodirect.org)
Modules start from €300. Discounts are available for bulk purchases and there is also the opportunity to request bespoke ITC training and consultancy on site in the UK through SO Direct.
Foreign language versions are also under development.
“CFECE intends to become the ‘one stop shop’ for export controls worldwide. Our new e-learning product has the capacity to incorporate any country’s export control system into a training package,” says Julia Reed, Director, CFECE.
Commenting on the launch, John Jackson, technical compliance officer, SO Direct, says:
“Knowledge of these laws and regulations can not only assist to avoid non-compliance, but can also provide companies with a commercial competitive advantage as many large defence companies will only deal with contractors with sound export control compliance programs.
“ITC E-learning licences are half the price of delegates attending a course. In the current climate all organisations are looking for cost savings. E-learning is a relatively new concept which only the big organisations have the infrastructure to develop, maintain and run. This type of training will be particularly attractive to smaller organisations where they do not necessarily have the IT or trained personnel to develop, maintain and run this type of face-to-face course as the cost is prohibitive.
“Taggers, those responsible for identifying the classification, jurisdiction and authorisation of goods and technology for export, will often have a different interpretation of the regulations. This would not be the case where they have a simple guide (part of the e-learning course) to refer to,” adds Jackson.
Commenting, industry expert, Dr Rod Bayliss, Chairman of the UK Rail Safety Board says: “There is an industry wide need for training, and that training must be consistent across UK industry thereby enabling personnel to go from one industry sector to another and not having to retrain but simply keep using the e-learning facility to maintain compliance.
“I don’t believe that the majority of UK industry has a full understanding of the DBERR UK, and EU Regulations with respect to ITC; there is a lack of qualified Taggers and Technical Compliance Officers: e-learning can help bridge that gap.”
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Editor’s Notes
About ITC Export controls are a system of international and domestic laws and regulations that prohibits the unlicensed export of certain goods, information and/or technology. It is the Law both local in each country and internationally and as such must be implemented globally.
Non-compliance with these laws and regulations can be extremely costly (fines in excess of US $100m) and can include bans on all exports and in some cases criminal charges can apply.
This also applies to technology that is transferred (exported) electronically i.e. by email or on a lap top computer.
Any organisation that exports “good or technology” that is regardless of the type of product civil, dual use or military. In the case of “military”
CFECE The Centre for Export Controls Excellence (CFECE) is an Australian based company with representatives in Canada, the U.S. and the UK. We also have a range of consultants from a variety of countries and can provide training (both face to face or e-learning) for any countries export control system on demand.
CFECE also provides a range of consultancy and legal services to help with any aspect of export controls. Our consultants have a wide range of experience and in excess of 100 years combined experience.
SO Direct is one of the UK’s leading providers of International Trade Compliance and Export Controls consultancy and training. With over 30 years’ experience of working in the aerospace, defence, commercial platforms, transport and IT industries, the company employs a range of expert consultants including systems engineers and senior ITAR taggers. Current contracts include responsibility as senior change authority for GE Avionics, moving all its commercial platforms’ manufacturing to China. This involves weekly and monthly management meetings across 5 different divisions, ensuring correct tagging and internal training for staff responsible for 250,000 historical documents and 150,000 live drawings.
SO Direct - see http://www.sodirect.org - are members of the Defence Manufacturers Association www.the-dma.org.uk and the Export Group for Aerospace and Defence www.egad.org.uk
