15 - DOLE assures supply of quality Pinoy ship officers,
15 - DOLE assures supply of quality Pinoy ship officers, seafarersThe Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Saturday bared several vital undertakings being pushed to reinforce and sustain the Philippines' position as the number 1 maritime manpower source of the world, and ensure the unfaltering supply of quality, highly skilled seafarers and maritime officers for the global shipping industry.
Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo D. Brion bared that the thrusts will be pushed through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), which is the agency responsible for assessing and certifying Filipino maritime workers.
"Our thrusts to ensure quality training for seafarers are geared at strengthening the Philippines' leadership as the world's most preferred maritime manpower source through our consistent adherence to the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW)," he said.
He added that the global choice for overseas Filipino seafarers still continues with the total sea-based contracts processed per worker by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration expected to approach the 300,000 mark this year, after increasing by 15.9 percent (+38,400) from 241,522 in the same period in 2006, to 279,922 from January 1 to August 31, 2007.
Brion earlier noted a preliminary report that the TESDA had assisted in the country's maritime thrusts by assessing and successfully certifying a total of 15,136 maritime workers from January to March this year, on top of 78,477 last year.
Speaking in behalf of TESDA Director General Augusto Boboy Syjuco, TESDA Deputy Director General for Field Operations Rogelio Peyuan said that the TESDA thrusts include the review and enhancement of maritime training, assessment and certification procedures, continuous improvement of the quality assurance system, and computerization.
Peyuan stressed that to maintain the country's dominance in the market, "it is TESDA's responsibility to maintain the credibility and integrity of the maritime training, assessment, and certification system," adding that the agency had recently undergone audit by the DOLE-led Maritime Training Council.
In order to safeguard the authenticity and integrity of certified overseas Filipino seafarers, he said that TESDA will computerize the assessment and certification to allow online verification of documents and establish "a 100 percent reliable database."He said that the TESDA Board chaired by Secretary Brion, had already approved an e-TESDA portal for this purpose to ensure transparency and accountability in the country's maritime training related systems, data, and information.
"We will continuously partner with our stakeholders to enhance the system, and safeguard the integrity of our pool of accredited competency assessors in the maritime sector, which will empower private sector-led assessment and certification," Peyuan said.He added that the TESDA, in linkage with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), has now developed a specific "ladderized educational curriculum" for the maritime sector in order to address the officer shortage in the global maritime industry.
Peyuan said that the ladderized education system, in general, will work to close the gaps in the educational system of the country by allowing tech-voc trainees to gain academic credits and pursue college education.In the maritime sector, specifically, "this means a greater number of highly trained, productive, and quality Filipino ship officers lessening the shortage in the world's high seas," he said.
To facilitate this, he said that PGMA Scholarships and student loans will be provided even more aggressively by TESDA to allow those taking tech-voc ratings courses to move up triumphantly towards officers' qualifications by means of the Bachelors' Degree programs of CHED."The new, ladderized educational order of the country will assure world class Filipino workers who are the Pinoy-WOW," an acronym in reference to the country's thrust to produce the much sought-after "Pinoy Workers of the World," he said.
Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo D. Brion bared that the thrusts will be pushed through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), which is the agency responsible for assessing and certifying Filipino maritime workers.
"Our thrusts to ensure quality training for seafarers are geared at strengthening the Philippines' leadership as the world's most preferred maritime manpower source through our consistent adherence to the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW)," he said.
He added that the global choice for overseas Filipino seafarers still continues with the total sea-based contracts processed per worker by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration expected to approach the 300,000 mark this year, after increasing by 15.9 percent (+38,400) from 241,522 in the same period in 2006, to 279,922 from January 1 to August 31, 2007.
Brion earlier noted a preliminary report that the TESDA had assisted in the country's maritime thrusts by assessing and successfully certifying a total of 15,136 maritime workers from January to March this year, on top of 78,477 last year.
Speaking in behalf of TESDA Director General Augusto Boboy Syjuco, TESDA Deputy Director General for Field Operations Rogelio Peyuan said that the TESDA thrusts include the review and enhancement of maritime training, assessment and certification procedures, continuous improvement of the quality assurance system, and computerization.
Peyuan stressed that to maintain the country's dominance in the market, "it is TESDA's responsibility to maintain the credibility and integrity of the maritime training, assessment, and certification system," adding that the agency had recently undergone audit by the DOLE-led Maritime Training Council.
In order to safeguard the authenticity and integrity of certified overseas Filipino seafarers, he said that TESDA will computerize the assessment and certification to allow online verification of documents and establish "a 100 percent reliable database."He said that the TESDA Board chaired by Secretary Brion, had already approved an e-TESDA portal for this purpose to ensure transparency and accountability in the country's maritime training related systems, data, and information.
"We will continuously partner with our stakeholders to enhance the system, and safeguard the integrity of our pool of accredited competency assessors in the maritime sector, which will empower private sector-led assessment and certification," Peyuan said.He added that the TESDA, in linkage with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), has now developed a specific "ladderized educational curriculum" for the maritime sector in order to address the officer shortage in the global maritime industry.
Peyuan said that the ladderized education system, in general, will work to close the gaps in the educational system of the country by allowing tech-voc trainees to gain academic credits and pursue college education.In the maritime sector, specifically, "this means a greater number of highly trained, productive, and quality Filipino ship officers lessening the shortage in the world's high seas," he said.
To facilitate this, he said that PGMA Scholarships and student loans will be provided even more aggressively by TESDA to allow those taking tech-voc ratings courses to move up triumphantly towards officers' qualifications by means of the Bachelors' Degree programs of CHED."The new, ladderized educational order of the country will assure world class Filipino workers who are the Pinoy-WOW," an acronym in reference to the country's thrust to produce the much sought-after "Pinoy Workers of the World," he said.
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