A ship captain’s candid thoughts on training

A ship captain’s candid thoughts on training
Yashika F. Torib May 19, 2021 https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/05/19/business/maritime-business/a-ship...

Training and education are critical for any professional. It helps improve a person’s performance, elevate their capabilities and create pathways for advancement in their field of expertise. In the maritime sector, training and education abound for seafarers who wish to upgrade their licenses; in fact, it is the only profession in the country that requires multiple board exams before a mariner becomes a full-pledged ship captain or chief engineer.

It is commonplace for many seafarers, however, to undergo mandatory training as mere compliance to pre-employment or pre-departure requirements, more so if they deem this training a redundancy of what they are already doing onboard ships.

Management Level Course (MLC), for instance — a training mandated by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) in 2006 for seafarers who wish to become ship officers; it was meant to fill the shortage of management-level officers at a time when the demand for such was high but there were not enough Filipino seafarers who are willing to take the post.

For veteran master mariner Capt. Wilfredo Tuvillo, the recent move by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to exclude MLC from the mandatory training is a welcome development especially when the skills it aims to improve are already learned and practiced onboard ships.

“Honestly, taking MLC is a waste of time and money. It is so basic it could simply be taught
in maritime schools. It would not even affect or change the existing skill set of seafarers because these are the same things they already learn onboard,” Tuvillo opined of its redundancy.

MLC was a six-week training for deck officers and eight-week training for engine officers costing between P40,000 to P60,000. Only those who have completed and passed this training were given higher licenses to become ship officers.

“There was a misunderstanding about this particular training. MLC was never even mentioned in the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention.” He also pointed out that active seafarers are receiving MLC training from those who haven’t worked aboard a ship for the past 10 to 20 years.

“I believe and I love training. I just think that it should be for the advancement of a person instead of for mere certification purposes,” he maintained.

Tuvillo’s strong opinions are established by more than three decades of sailing the high seas and working for 15 different manning agencies in pursuit of excellence and quality manning services.

His clear-cut view and disposition on things reflect the character of the organization he is serving for the past seven years as a Superintendent for Eastern Mediterranean Manning Agency, a Greek-owned company headed by the country manager, Edgardo Flores, who is known to have the same passionate stance on anything concerning the Filipino seafarers.

“I am honored to work for a company that is stable, honest, generous, and fiercely protective of its people. I have been around the industry for a long time, and I know ‘best’ when I see one,” he said.

Tuvillo is a product of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA). His childhood dreams of becoming a pilot or doctor were washed away by his passion for the sea.

“I fell in love with seafaring and from there, all good things followed,” he concluded.