RP running out of highly skilled marine officers

After the reported shortage of nurses and pilots, the country is now lacking highly skilled seafarers.

There are now fewer Filipino marine officers that the country could hardly cope with the growing global demand, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

"Despite the proliferation of maritime schools in the country, we are now experiencing shortage in our supply of marine officers," labor undersecretary for employment Danilo Cruz said.

Cruz explained that the shortage was mainly due to the fact that most maritime students would rather take up a two-year associate course than a four-year marine engineering course.

"You can’t blame them if they want to board the vessel after two years because they want to earn a living," Cruz pointed out.

He further noted there are many seamen who are reluctant to undergo training required for promotion, as they are fearful of bigger responsibilities given to marine officials.

A study conducted by the National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) showed that Filipinos view seafaring as a job that would allow them to send their children to school and secure a home of their own.

Based on NMP data, the Philippines supplies 30 percent of the world’s seafarers but only 14 percent are senior officers. The rest are ordinary seamen.

According to Cruz, there is an urgent need to address the shortage of marine officers if the country is to take advantage of the growing global demand for highly skilled seafarers.

"Many senior marine officers from Japan and various European countries are retiring soon and Filipinos could fill up those vacancies if we have sufficient supply," Cruz said.

This year alone, he said about 10,000 marine officers are needed worldwide and this is expected to surge to 27,000 by 2015.

Cruz said the government is currently providing free training for mechanical engineering graduates so they could work as marine officers.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the exodus of health workers in the Western Pacific in search of better-paying jobs and professional advancement may have some "catastrophic effects." — Mayen Jaymalin, Sheila Crisostomo