Firm Welcomes Gov't moves To Upskill Seafarers (1)

1
Firm Welcomes Gov't moves To Upskill Seafarers
2
UPSKILLING. Wilhelmsen Ship Management vice
president for marine personnel Anette Bjerke Hoey
(left) and Wilhelmsen vice president of marketing
and communication Esther Gan. Hoey says they
welcome government policies that aim to further
improve the skills of Filipino seafarers. (Photo
by Joann S. Villanueva)
3
MANILA As the maritime industry shifts towards
decarbonization and digitalization, officials of
a leading maritime recruitment and fleet
management firm said government policies that
would further improve Filipino seafarers' skills
are very much welcome.
4
In a briefing on Thursday, Wilhelmsen Ship
Management vice president for marine personnel
Anette Bjerke Hoey said they have increased the
number of Filipino seafarers in their team,
citing the availability of supply and their
skills.
5
Hoey said they have about 5,000 Filipino
personnel from a pool of 10,000 seafarers.
6
She said about 40 percent of the Filipino
seafarers in their company are officer ranks, and
about 2 percent of them are female.
7
The company has a cadet program, which allowed
the entry of more Filipino seafarers by 194
percent in the past five years.
8
The Philippines is among the countries in the
world that have a large supply of skilled
seafarers and Hoey said Wilhelmsen has been
relying on this supply for the past 43 years.
9
With the innovations and shifts in the maritime
industry, such as towards decarbonization, she
said, We are determined to equip our local
recruits with technical and soft skills
competence that is required to operate future
ships safely and efficiently.
10
Asked about any particular focus for government
policy reforms for seafarers, Hoey said they have
not faced any negative experience among their
Filipino crews.
11
She said the company is very much concerned
about the changes in the decarbonization and the
future ships that are coming in.
12
She added that the ongoing changes in the
industry and the need to upskill their crew is a
must, thus the continuing program to further
improve their personnels technical skills.
13
On our end when it comes to (the) competence of
the crew, we are very much focused on getting
their technical skills up. Of course, any policy
that the government gives will be (an) additional
welcome for us to increase the skills of our
crew, Hoey told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
14
She said career progression is among the primary
focus of the company when it comes to their crew,
citing progress in developing our Filipino
officers to gain experience in highly complex
vessel segments like LPG, (liquified petroleum
gas), LNG (liquified natural gas), and cruise.
15
Vessels called LPG or LNG tankers are carrier
ships that are specifically designed to transport
natural gas.
16
This added vessel segment experience adds
significant value in their career growth ahead,
Hoey added. (PNA) ? News Source Philippine News
Agency
17
Visit https//www.lacerta.ph/ for more
information.