Occupation
Freight forwarder
Freight forwarders arrange international movement of cargo by sea, air, road, or rail on behalf of shippers, without owning the vehicles themselves. They select routings and carriers, produce transport documents, and coordinate customs clearance and delivery at both ends. Time zones, cut-offs, and paperwork accuracy drive the rhythm of the job.
Also known as: Forwarding agent · Freight agent · Cargo agent · International freight specialist
Occupation content
Part of Supply chain, transport and logistics
What the work involves
- Quote routings and rates for a consignment across available modes and carriers.
- Book space with airlines, shipping lines, or road hauliers and confirm cut-off times.
- Issue and check bills of lading, air waybills, and export documentation.
- Coordinate customs clearance, port handling, and final delivery with local agents.
- Track consignments and inform customers about delays, rollovers, and exceptions.
- Handle claims for loss or damage and reconcile carrier and agent invoices.
How people commonly enter
- Direct entry as a forwarding clerk or operations assistant with on-the-job training.
- A college certificate or diploma in international trade, logistics, or supply chain.
- An apprenticeship or trainee route in international freight operations where one is offered.
- Transferring from shipping line, airline cargo, or customs brokerage work.
Typical training: Certificate or college diploma
Licensing: Regulated in some jurisdictions — confirm the current requirement with the regulator in your province, state, or country.
Pathways: Apprenticeship route
Typical work context
Desk based · Team based · Fast paced · Hybrid office · High responsibility
Related interests
Conventional (organizing) · Enterprising (leading)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
- Data checking and clerical accuracy
- Reading comprehension
- Numerical reasoning
- Problem solving
- Multitasking and monitoring
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Supply chain, transport and logistics.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
- O*NET OnLine — occupation quick search: cargo and freight agents · International
Link checked
- Canada Job Bank — Career planning and occupation search · Canada
Link checked
- GOV.UK — Apply for an apprenticeship · United Kingdom
Link checked
Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Supply chain, transport and logistics in Canada, not a figure for Freight forwarder. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Supply chain, transport and logistics family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Supply chain, transport and logistics: education pathways
Some roles in Supply chain, transport and logistics may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Supply chain, transport and logistics: licensing
Find jobs
These are live, user-controlled searches on each source's own site for “ Freight forwarder”. Novus Learn does not fetch, store, or rank these results, and job availability never changes your exploration match score.
- Search Canada Job Bank · Canada
- Search USAJOBS · United States federal
- Search EURES · European Union / EEA
- Search Indeed · International (choose location on Indeed)