A task force led by The International Air Cargo Association with active participation from the International Air Transport Association and the International Federation of Freight Forwarder Associations published the results. The final report and accompanying educational demands matrix is being made available through the respective websites of the participating organizations.

The task force concluded that managers not only must possess basic skills and detailed operational knowledge, but also the so-called "higher skills," which include leadership, team-building and market and financial analysis techniques.

While numerous training programs are available to teach the fundamental skills, the availability of air-cargo-focused programs that teach these higher-level skills is limited. The researchers agreed that the industry as a whole must address this deficiency to ensure it maintains its long history of innovation and financial robust performance. The potential for the creation of a certificated and preferably accredited program may assist in this goal. As part of its effort, the task force compiled a comprehensive educational matrix identifying existing courses and areas of deficiency.

The report stresses that without access to such programs, the air cargo industry faces the additional difficulty of attracting and equipping qualified talent to lead the industry through future challenges. Another consequent risk without such an offering is the loss of rising managers to other sectors of the logistics industry or to other industries as workforce dynamics become more fluid.

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