Credential for international trade experts

by Kira Vermond, faculty of arts

Not long ago, Doreen Conrad found herself in Bermuda in front of a crowded conference room to talk about international trade. Conrad, a certified international trade consultant from Waterloo with more than 25 years of experience, realized the moderator seemed to be giving her more “air time” than the other panelists. After the talk, media lined up to interview her.

“I get a little more focus and attention when I speak. I pique people’s interest,” she says now.

What’s her secret to standing out in the crowd and being noticed? Four letters she now writes after her name: CITP. Conrad says they give her instant authority within global trade circles.

CITP stands for Certified International Trade Professional, the only professional trade designation of its kind in the world. It’s offered in Canada by the Forum for International Trade Training, a national organization based in Ottawa that works with outside organizations and educational institutions to deliver the professional development training.

It has become more important than ever to have broad international training and experience. There’s been a shift in global power to Asia, new regulations, a reorganization of supply chains, a higher Canadian dollar and today’s computer technology connects the world like nothing else before it.

And now CITP training is coming to the University of Waterloo for professionals who wish to be recognized as highly skilled experts in international trade and have the credentials to prove it.

Waterloo is partnering with FITT to offer eight courses, or modules, to meet the organization’s stringent CITP competency standards.

“We have a dynamic, exceptionally talented board of advisors who have helped bring this experience to Waterloo,” says Geoff Malleck (left), director of the Faculty of Arts International Trade Specialization, who has been instrumental in driving the initiative forward.

Accreditation is a rigorous and challenging experience. Malleck admits the modules, each taking two full days to complete and requiring an exam or a completed project, are demanding. They have to be. “They cover a broad range of topics,” he says, “but each one of them is sufficiently comprehensive to ensure that people don’t go away with superficial knowledge. It’s material they can use.”

The eight courses cover everything from ethical, cultural and technological contexts, to international marketing, trade finance, supply chain management, breaking into new markets, research, legal aspects and management.

Consultants, trade professionals in large corporations and even small business owners can benefit from becoming a CITP. Undergraduate students with academic international exposure are already well on their way to being qualified for their CITP, says Malleck.

The modules will be taught in the Waterloo area, with the university working with community partners, including CTT, Communitech, and the local Chamber of Commerce, to deliver the program.

Conrad, who is part of Waterloo’s CITP advisory board, and who will offer her time as a CITP trainer, says all businesses in the Golden Triangle region must begin looking at standardized training for their employees as the marketplace expands to include other markets. Creating partnerships in emerging areas requires a different skill set and training than making similar connections at home, she emphasizes.

“If I owned a company and had my staff out there promoting our products and they didn’t have the CITP competencies, competitively speaking, we would be at a loss compared to our competition.”

Conrad speaks from experience. She spent eight years with the UN International Trade Centre. She has working in 19 African countries, every South American country except Bolivia, all over Europe, and in a handful of Asian and Central American countries. She recently returned to her hometown of Waterloo to establish a consulting business.

She received her CITP designation in 2009, and has seen interest grow in it ever since. In fact, she says that whenever she travels, people ask her how she became accredited. “A CITP designation definitely builds your credibility and is noticed in foreign markets,” she says. “I think it’s one of the best things I did in establishing my new business.”

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Stratford theme will be performing arts

Registration is open for a conference at Waterloo’s Stratford campus next month that promises to “investigate how the performing arts are pushing the boundaries of digital technologies and shaping innovative artistic experiences”.

The conference, “Challenging Digital Media”, is scheduled for September 28-30. A news release says that its sessions “will explore broad opportunities, limitations and challenges of arts and media from theoretical, technological, sociological, aesthetic and pedagogical lenses. This will be done through workshops, seminars, and performances integrating digital media technologies.”

It says the conference will bring together Canadian and International speakers to showcase experience and insight into the relationship between performing arts and digital technologies.

“We often think about how digital media is affecting the arts,” says Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer, senior advisor to the university’s president in charge of international initiatives “But rarely do we talk about how the performing arts are pushing digital media change.”

With an international community of artists, creators, producers, developers and visionaries, conference participants will have the opportunity to learn, interact, debate and challenge digital media technologies. Speakers include authors, musicians and directors from Europe and the United States as well as from the National Film Board of Canada, Canadian Film Centre, Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and Canadian universities.

“The performing arts are filled with deep traditions married with rapid innovations that are challenging the use of digital technologies in a new and intriguing way,” says Tobi Day-Hamilton, director of advancement for the Stratford campus, where Waterloo’s Master of Digital Experience Innovation program is based.

She adds: “The Challenging conference offers a unique opportunity to explore, expand and the digital media industry through the performing arts. To have this conference here in Stratford, one of Canada’s leading cultural cities, just makes perfect sense.”

The conference is presented in partnership with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and the National Arts Centre.

CAR

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