Kenya: Let universities train seafarers to make them globally competitive

Let universities train seafarers to make them globally competitive
September 18 2018 https://www.nation.co.ke/oped/letters/Let-universities-train-seafarers/4...

June 25 is the annual Day of the Seafarer, a celebration designated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to recognise the unique contribution made by seafarers to international seaborne trade, the world economy and civil society.

However, in Kenya, the day passed rather quietly. In Mombasa, off-duty seafarers used to sit outside Canon Towers, sharing tales about their voyages.

Their dressing was unique. The Catholic Church had dedicated Mass for sailors. I have a neighbour who retired many years ago but still dresses like a sailor and lives like one.

All the vehicles and other imported goods that we see in Kenya came through the ocean, where seafarers move them from one place to the other. Seafarers spend months, and even years, at sea, away from their families.

TRAINING

We did not have shipping courses but now many middle-level colleges offer them.

Let the universities also pick these low-hanging fruits by designing courses that can be offered to sailors and also generate income by training seafarers.

This is a call on seafarers who need training and expertise in their work to enrol for the courses. Most of them need formal training and protection of their rights.

Without proper papers, seafarers in Kenya risk discrimination at their workplaces.

Kenyan seafarers have not been invited to an ongoing conference on shipping despite a myriad problems bedevilling them which need to be addressed. These include salaries and terms of service. Let such conferences involve all stakeholders.

We also need sailors to man the ferries. What if there is an accident; will the bouncers jump into the water to rescue the passengers? It’s sailors who have such training.

JOBS

At the Lamu port, foreigners are doing work that Kenyans are capable of. Some don’t have proper papers or have suspicious ones.

In Kenya, we have more than 2,000 sailors, majority of whom are jobless. Our neighbours Tanzania have a policy on employment, which requires that 70 percent of the workers be locals.

We should encourage seafarers across shipping lines to work together, to talk about the things seafarers tell us and to develop solutions to make life at sea better while also improving the lives of those who are left behind when seafarers depart for work at sea.

Kenya has no ship of its own. This is an opportunity for them to get employment.

Seafarers have their union, which must agitate for their rights.

Let us all think of those on the ship. Let’s commit to continuing to connect seafarers with their ambitions, hopes and dreams.

VERONICA ONJORO, via email.