Date Published: 07 Oct 2009
Singapore, 7 October 2009 – A S$2.4 million Tripartite Nautical Training Award (TNTA) programme will be jointly rolled out by the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union (SMOU), National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and supported by the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), to encourage Singaporeans to join the maritime sector and pursue promising careers sailing onboard international vessels as seafaring officers.
WDA, e2i and SMOU will collectively contribute S$2.4 million towards the Place and Train scholarship programme to train and recruit 60 Singaporeans over a period of 2 years into the seafaring profession. They will be trained in professional skills to safely navigate multi-million dollar vessels plying the oceans and vital to the global transportation of world trade. WDA will provide course fee funding and training allowances to successful candidates, throughout the 30 and a half month training programme.
SMOU and e2i are looking to attract young Singaporeans with at least a GCE "N" Level certificate, with passes in English, Physics and Mathematics, to join the industry. They will be working with SSA and maritime employers to provide both onboard training and subsequent employment opportunities for selected="true" Singaporeans.
Singaporeans who qualify for the scheme will undertake 6 months of pre-sea training, followed by 18 months of shipboard learning at sea, before returning to complete a preparatory programme of 4 and a half months and 2 months of Standards of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping (STCW) courses, culminating with the Class 3 Certificate of Competency (CoC) examination assessed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). Once passed, they will be licensed to work on board international vessels, and qualify for further upgrading to obtain higher level licences. The 30.5 month training programme will be conducted by Wavelink Maritime International (WMI) under the SMOU. In the coming two months, NTUC e2i’s will be conducting outreach activities to interested candidates. Please see Annex A for more details of the training programme.
"This is a productive, highly skilled, and well-respected profession. I do not believe Singaporeans, growing up on an island state surrounded by sea, will naturally shun maritime jobs. But it is true that due to various structural reasons, the industry has not been very successful in attracting Singaporeans into the profession. With the Tripartite Nautical Scholarship, we have now made it easier and more attractive. We are also not only looking for people with great academic results. So if you love the sea, want to see the world, and earn a living through learning a skill, give the TNTA serious consideration," says Mr Ong Ye Kung, Chairman of e2i.
There is presently a global shortage of seafaring officers that is estimated to climb to some 27,000 by 2015. In Singapore, there is a need to train people for the job so that we have a constant pool of officers to meet the industry demands. For those who are willing to work onboard any of the 95,000 vessels sailing globally, the rewards are promising. Seafarers starting their careers and sailing as 3rd Officers are estimated to be earning between US$2,000 to US$2,500 monthly, with earnings estimated to climb to at least US$5,000 monthly for those who reach the rank of ship Captain.
"Singapore is a premier International Maritime Centre with some 4,000 ships on our shipping registry. It is a vibrant industry where opportunities exist and we urge Singaporeans to consider seafaring as a career choice. The Tripartite Nautical Training Award demonstrates the commitment by the government, the industry and the unions in investing for the future through manpower development which is crucial to Singapore as a maritime hub," says Mr Thomas Tay, General-Secretary of SMOU.
