The UNCTAD/TrainForTrade’s Modern Port Management two-day course sponsored by the Office of Ports and Harbours of Gabon (OPRAG) concluded successfully yesterday in Libreville.
The training was in Module 7 which is part of the Modern Port Management (MPM) course consisting of 8 modules that cover the main aspects of modern management of ports. The MPM lasts between 18 and 24 months, comprising around 240 hours of training.
Participants who wish to receive the UNCTAD Modern Port Management Certificate have to complete successfully all eight modules and present a thesis before a panel of local and international port experts, identifying a specific problem within their port and proposing concrete solutions.
The MPM is composed of eight modules, namely:
- International trade and transport
- Organization of a port system
- Functioning of a port system
- Future challenges to ports
- Methods and tools of port management
- Commercial and economic management
- Administrative and legal management
- Technical management and human resources development
Each port within the participating country decides how to organize the module sessions, which could run every 2 months.
The recently concluded Module 7 on administrative and legal management was attended by 22 Gabonese participants including 8 women.
The course was held at the Office of Ports and Harbours of Gabon (OPRAG), in Libreville, Gabon. The majority of the participants were port managers. At the end of the course, participants are expected to be able to:
- Understand the rationale of the administrative function of the port and describe the general organization of it.
- Understand the legal basis of the organization and the functioning of a port.
- Understand the regulations for operating and overseeing a port.
- Deal with and prevent harmful events using risk management and policy-insurance adapted to the needs of their ports.
Mr. Amadou Yaya Sarr, Director of Human Resources for the Port Authority of Douala (Cameroon) was the trainer. Mr. Sarr is an expert on legal matters concerning ports and port authorities. He was trained by the UNCTAD/TrainForTrade to serve as an instructor for this course.
Training senior managers from the different port authorities within the region to serve as instructors for the course is part of UNCTAD/TrainForTrade’s strategy to increase the sustainability of its programmes, harness local expertise and increase South-South cooperation.
