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INTERNATIONAL. The Duty Free World Council’s (DFWC) proposed Academy – an initiative which seeks to promote education standards and training for the industry – has taken a major step towards full legal establishment.
A DFWC meeting held on Sunday (8 May) at the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference in Singapore determined that DFWC President Frank O’Connell would chair the Academy, supported by an incoming board. It will oversee the legal and practical creation of the DFWC Academy.
The members of the interim board offer a range of expertise including human resources, operations, marketing and sales. The board will feature: TFWA President and member of the DFWC Executive Council Erik Juul-Mortensen; Dubai Duty Free Vice President Operations, MEADFA President and DFWC board member Sean Staunton; Mondelez World Travel Retail Director, Head of Global Accounts, APTRA President and DFWC member Jaya Singh; Dufry Divisional HR Director Latin America and Caribbean Marcus Griffin; and Coty Director Marketing, Travel Retail Worldwide Markus Stauss.
An initial range of products and services is being readied for launch to coincide with the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes in October.
The board has agreed to appoint Travel Retail Training, the organisers of inflight retail event ISPY, to act as the Academy’s management company with the responsibility to create, deliver and coordinate training programmes and services on its behalf.
The DFWC carried out an industry-wide survey last year to identify common learning and development needs and aspirations. In response to this, the DFWC Academy will initially focus on five main areas:
– Creating a certified online programme providing an introduction to the duty free and travel retail industry for those who are new to this industry and for companies seeking to enter the business;
– Determining and monitoring industry professional standards;
– Developing a quality mark in-house and external learning programmes;
– Accrediting training delivery; and,
– Providing verification and certification.
DFWC said the Academy would initially concentrate on frontline retail staff and ensuring quality delivery of supplier product and brand training.
O’Connell commented: “We look forward to working closely with Christine Martin of TRT to make this a reality and to create and deliver quality products and services that the industry recognises and values and can incorporate into their own learning and development strategies.
“Our aim is to have this initial wave of products and services ready to launch at TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in October in Cannes.”
