Bridging the manning gap

As demand for Filipinos seafarers by international shipping companies continues to grow, the domestic crewing industry is finding it increasingly difficult to find and deploy the necessary numbers required to man ocean-plying vessels.

Already, there is a deficit of about 10,000 capable, certified and qualified officers. And this problem is expected to get worse in 2015 when about 25 percent of today’s officers, many of whom are already 50 years or older, will be retiring.

Filipinos are still regarded as a dominant force in the global shipping industry. Roughly about 30 percent of all global crew on board are Filipinos. The next biggest groups are from Russia and Ukraine, contributing about seven percent each.

Lately, however, the number of enrollees and students of maritime education in Philippine schools has been declining. Worse, as some of my friends have been complaining, the quality of graduates has also been slipping.

Seafaring vs nursing

As recent statistics from the Commission on Higher Education shows, enrolment in maritime education is now much lower compared to enrolment in medicine and allied courses, specifically nursing. From 100,000 enrollees in maritime education in 1998, the figure is now down to 80,000.

On the other hand, enrolment in medical and related courses has doubled, from about 150,000 in 1998 to over 300,000. With the strong demand for nurses, doctors and medical aides in the US and other western and highly industrialized countries, no wonder high school graduates are making a beeline for nursing and care-giving schools.

Not letting opportunity waste

While both professions allow our OFWs to send home precious dollars, it would be foolhardy to waste an existing opportunity that still continues to provide a comfortable source of income for Filipino seamen and their families.

I guess it is in this light that private initiative is so much welcome, especially when government does not have the resources to provide solutions, or does not know how to solve such a problem, or is misguided, or all of the above.

Arben’s practical approach

My friend and golfing partner, Arben Santos, the quiet and unassuming head of the Southwest Maritime Group of Companies and an Ateneo Blue Eagle fanatic, is very much involved in trying to find a solution to the current brewing crisis. One program that he has started is a scholarship scheme where the prospective employer contributes in a loosely structured “study now, pay later” scheme.

Arben has likewise set up the Southfield Maritime Training Foundation that developed a curriculum designed to complement practical experience of maritime education graduates, and to encourage them to progress through the ranks.

Pursuing Enverga’s vision

Arben, through his Southfield Agencies Inc., partnered with the Institute of Maritime Studies (IMS) under the Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation. This will ensure that Dr. Enverga’s vision of a continuing program to train highly qualified maritime students is pursued, according to Arben.

Dr. Enverga, who founded the Luzonian Colleges in 1947, had a vision of bringing affordable but quality education to the people of Quezon and surrounding provinces that could rival Manila-based schooling, a goal he relentlessly worked on up to his death in 1981.

It is interesting to note that IMS began with less than a hundred students in the early 90s, growing today to being the biggest – and the best – maritime school in Quezon.

Investing in quality teaching

Many schools have been reckless in luring enrollees to pursue a maritime career by dangling only the significant remuneration package that a graduate could look forward to. What is missed out in the recruitment campaign is the stringent standard that a maritime student needs to be able to graduate.

Aside from not having in place a stringent standard of student acceptance that assesses both academic performance and personality of a potential student, there is also a dearth in qualified professors.

A lot of attention has also been given by Southfield and IMS to making sure that the teaching staff at Enverga are highly qualified and competent. Often, as has been noted in a number of studies, the high mortality rate of enrolled students in maritime education is attributed to teachers who may have the experience and knowledge in maritime work, but do not know how to teach.

Search for solutions

By ensuring that students will graduate with top-notch skills in seafaring, shipping companies are seeing the logic of not just being mere prospective employers but also doing its share in solving what they see will be a glaring manpower shortage in the international maritime industry.

We need more Filipinos, not only in the private sector but also in government, with initiative and determined drive to find solutions to the country’s problems.

Talk is cheap. And according to the latest study, men talk much more than women. More action men with practical doable solutions are what we are looking for.

Tournament poker – a test of  stamina and mental toughness

The recently concluded 3rd Philippine Poker Tour (PPT) Million-Peso Hold’Em Championship highlighted the need for physical stamina and mental toughness. It took almost 12 hours of concentration, patience, focus, quick tactical thinking and mental discipline before Kent del Rosario emerged as a new member of the elite circle of poker millionaire. He joins Dereck Bautista, the first PPT millionaire and Chris Parker, winner of the December 2006 event.

Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) in Manila Philippine Poker Tour (PPT) announced its tie-up with APPT and its participation in the search for local qualifiers for APPT’s PokerStar event, a P25-million international competition to be held in Manila on 23rd to 26th August 2007.

Daily satellite tournaments are ongoing at THE PLAYER’S DEN, PPT’s clubhouse, located at 1786 A. Mabini, Malate, Manila where winners in the multi-level satellites earn seats to the PokerStar tournament. For a fee of as low as P150, one has the opportunity to join the APPT PokerStar main event without paying the main event’s $2,500 tournament fee.

For more details, visit the official PPT website, www.PhilippinePokerTour.com. Interested parties may also call the PPT secretariat at 812-0153, 0917-833-6648, or 0920-921-8891.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Ege, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected].