12,000 jobs open this year for seafarers - POEA

Foreign shipowners would need about 12,000 Filipino seafarers this year to fill the vacuum in shipping fleets, a ranking Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) official said.

POEA Administrator Rosalinda Baldoz said that they have recently meet with Italian Cruise operators who expressed their interest to hire about 1,600 Filipino seamen this year.

"The Italian cruise operators are expanding and they are looking at hiring 1,600 seafarers this year," Baldoz said in an interview.

Norwegian shipowners, on the other hand will need 3,000 officers and ratings also for their fleet expansion.

But Baldoz said the Japanese shipping firms have the largest requirement as the firms intend to hire seamen from the Philippines.

"Japanese shipowners intend to source 8,000 out of 10,000 new requirements for seafarers on Japanese-owned vessels," added the POEA chief.

According to Baldoz, the Maritime Training Council, an attached agency of POEA, is now studying possible options and strategies for the country to be able to supply the demand of the three countries.

She noted that for the officers, MTC and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) have started the bridge course for engineering graduates and students to fill in the shortage of officers.

Under the program, mechanical and electrical engineering graduates would just have to take a short course for deck and marine officers and to pass the exam and will be allowed to board the ship as officers.

It was earlier projected that in the next two years there will be shortage in officers globally and that foreign shipowners are looking at the Philippines to source these needed officers. - GMANews.TV

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