Shortage of marine officers

Source: Sun Star

THE maritime industry is projecting a shortage of 200,000 trained and competent marine officers in the next four years.

Captain Cedric Dsouza, training consultant of the International Maritime Employers Committee (IMEC), warned about this impending crisis in the naval workforce in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu.

IMEC is an organization based in London representing 125 shipping companies worldwide. Its members operate around 9,000 ships and employ over 145,000 seafarers of different nationalities.

In a few years, more and more ships will be made.

With the projected shortage of maritime officers and the expansion of the shipping industry, IMEC created a program that would meet the needs and interests of its members.

“IMEC has decided to enter into contracts with a number of training institutions in the Philippines, providing for the institutions to run dedicated IMEC cadet training programs starting June 2008,” said Dsouza.

“We want to invest in training for the future seafarers who could pass the standards of the industry,” he added.

Scholarship

The program IMEC offers is called Cadet Training Enhancement Program (CTEP).

This is a scholarship offered by IMEC for the first time in the University of Cebu (UC) with funding from the International Maritime Training Trust (IMTT), a non-profit organization established primarily to develop and train seafarers.

“Visayas has the best training facilities. The Trust chose UC in the region because it already has the infrastructure and facilities,” Dsouza said.

First school

UC is the first school in the country in which IMEC has integrated the program. However, there are plans of expanding the grant to more maritime students in various universities all over the country.

“This year is a learning year for IMEC with only 50 cadets, but next year IMEC will expand to 250 cadets and then I will take on a more challenging role with all the training aspects,” said Dsouza.

He added that the most important thing is to train potential management level officers, those who can be the leading minds and bodies in the ship.

“We are confident in the abilities of the Filipinos. But we need to look at a more comprehensive approach to building leadership skills and confidence for Filipinos to function well as management level officers,” said Capt. Joseph Thuillier, IMTT secretary.

IMEC started building the scholarship program by going through an orientation process in different high schools last January.

Its officials scouted for the top-performing graduating high school students with not lower than an 80 percent grade in any subject. The students went through series of entrance tests. From there, 150 students qualified for the final interview.

“From 150, we have finally selected the best 50, who we think have the knowledge and skills we are looking for,” said Dsouza.

CTEP is a “2-1-1” type of program. The 50 scholars will spend their first two years in school and whole third year “on board” for apprenticeship.

“They will earn around P20,000 a month during their apprenticeship. But they will save half of it for their fourth year educational expenses,” said Dsouza.

IMTT will finance P135,000 a year for each of the 50 scholars. This will cover full tuition, books, board and lodging and other miscellaneous expenses.

Dsouza encouraged the students to see the maritime profession not as a job but as a career offering many good opportunities.

“They don’t have to sail all their lives. They can get out of the ship and be maritime professors and trainers,” he said.

He added that with the kind of skills Filipinos have, “we do not want these people to be subordinates anymore.”

“The Filipinos should lead,” said Thuillier. (Maria Nerissa D. Quiño, UP Mass Comm Intern)