Quo vadis? Maritime education and training

Quo vadis? Maritime education and training
Atty. Brenda V. Pimentel March 9, 2022 https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/03/09/business/maritime/quo-vadis-marit...

Education underpins the creation of employment opportunities; access to the labor market is dictated by the ability to provide human resources who possess the requisite knowledge and skills demanded by the job.

The Philippines, being an archipelago, has that rare privilege of nurturing a population who has a natural affinity to the sea, one could even say almost congenital. The Philippines has made the distinction of being labeled the seafaring capital of the world and the reason for the extraordinary attention given to maritime education and training. There are not many who get to see that it is not only in the seafaring sector that we are raising the country's maritime human resource capabilities; we are making headway in the shipbuilding sector.

The balanghai is one prototype vessel which in centuries back was a long-held masterpiece of the Philippines attesting to the craftsmanship and engineering feat of the Filipino. From the naval architects to skilled workers at the shipyard, the Filipino is being extolled for his aptitude and diligence.

Maritime administration, port and terminal operations, and the associated business ventures are essential services and industries for an archipelagic nation. These are undertakings dedicated to addressing not only the mobility of people and goods between the islands but also in generating employment opportunities for the vast majority of the people.

It is therefore puzzling that except for the seafaring programs of BS Marine Transportation and BS Marine Engineering and that of BS Naval Architecture, there is no other available field of study that focuses on maritime. More baffling is the fact that primary and secondary education hardly touches on the attributes of the Philippines being an archipelago except for a rapid citation of Luzon-Visayas-Mindanao as constituting the main island groups of the country.

Nothing is offered in the basic education system, in a sustained manner, that aimed at raising the young Filipino's appreciation of the sea, his maritime heritage, and how it helps shape his future and his country's development.

Advocates of transforming the archipelago into a maritime hub must understand that preparing its human capital to develop an interest in the maritime industry is key to achieving such a vision. And education plays a big role in growing the passion for maritime.

Introducing maritime at the workplace could be challenging to the one who is being indoctrinated as it is for the employer who wishes to immediately cash in on the rewards that the maritime industry has to offer. Engaging one who has at least the minimum appreciation of maritime work is best, but it could be a real challenge as there is nothing that would provide that minimum knowledge and understanding except to those holders of university and college diplomas on BSMT and BSMarE.

Many who by their university/educational background could, without doubt, immediately qualify and assume maritime-related functions such from the fields of engineering, law, accountancy, economics and management, among others, yet, it is a pity that a big number of them lack even a hint of what it means to be citizens of an archipelagic nation. This means investing additional time and effort to learn maritime to be able to optimize their usefulness and contribution at the workplace. There are efforts to reform the country's maritime education and training, yet achieving that remains elusive to this time. Maritime education stakeholders may need to backtrack and rework from a different perspective, one that accepts that reforms in maritime education cannot be divorced from the Philippine educational system.

It may be a long shot, but after waiting for decades, would a few years really count?

Let's start now so we do not miss the boat!!