Innovating MET from behind the scenes

Innovating MET from behind the scenes
Yashika F. Torib December 8, 2021 https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/12/08/business/maritime/innovating-met-...

The merchant marine is the only profession in the country where an individual must take multiple board licensure examinations to be promoted to the highest position. Up until 2006, Filipino seafarers who wish to upgrade their licenses are compelled to stay ashore for several months until the review and examination are over.

The procedures are so rigid that, in the often jampacked schedule of seafarers, something has to give - shipboard duties, family time, and tens of thousands of money. Then came the Walk-in Examination System (WES), an online computerized system of board licensure examination where seafarers have the option to manage their time and resources.

From the traditional triannual board exams, WES offered two consecutive days of examination twice a week. Its electronic capabilities also allowed the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to bring licensure services closer to seafarers wherever they are in the world, may they be on board ships or at the shore.

Results were given sooner, and it helped eliminate the ongoing seafarer shortage brought about by the rapid expansion of commercial fleets. Indeed, hundreds of thousands of Filipino seamen have benefited from WES since it was launched 15 years ago. One of the brains behind its inception, unbeknownst to many, is another veteran seafarer who, despite his predilection of working behind the scenes, earned a reputation as one of the best in the maritime industry.

Constantino Arcellana, known to friends as "Captain Jun", has been, for decades, working alternately for the public and private sectors that handle maritime affairs. "I am doing service where I am most needed," Arcellana said. "May it be with the government or the private sector, I will be there to help as long as it will lead to the better of our maritime industry," he continued. Arcellana is a product of the prestigious, 201-year-old Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) and started sailing the high seas in 1979.

After 14 years, the seasoned master mariner moved his expertise ashore to serve the country's maritime training sector. Since then, the industry has felt the weight of his significant contributions.

Numerous financially challenged Filipino families were lifted from privation when he trained ordinary seafarers to become ship officers through his manning agency, Globe Master Marine. Their stable employment has supported clans and the succeeding generation of future seafarers. His charisma and intellect were also experienced by the Norwegian Training Center-Manila, the PMMA Graduate School, and more recently, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).

"During my time with PRC, we were able to launch WES and the LERIS (Licensure Examination and Registration Information System) projects as part of the PRC Modernization Program. Being part of the team who implemented a system that is still relevant and beneficial to our seafarers today, I think we have made a right contribution to the industry," Arcellana commented. The man's brilliance does not end there. His recent undertakings involve the development of an Electronic Training Record Book (eTRB).

The traditional TRB documents the accomplished training of a cadet who is undergoing his shipboard training, a MARINA requirement before the issuance of the Certificate of Competency (COC). Arcellana's innovated version of TRB revolutionizes maritime education, thus allowing cadets to learn more for the entire duration of their shipboard training. His motivations for developing the eTRB made it more meaningful. "The program was not developed for profit.

Our team opted to return our blessings to the industry by financing and personally developing the eTRB along with a Learning Management System (LMS) software for our maritime higher education institutions," Arcellana revealed. As the pandemic forced people indoors since last year, the seasoned captain was left with ample time to spend with family and reflect on his past laurels.

Amidst these musings and longing for the joys of golf and friends, who knows what more innovations are brewing in his brilliant mind.