PH top maritime crew supplier

PH top maritime crew supplier
Yashika F. Torib July 26, 2023 https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/07/26/business/maritime/ph-top-maritime...

THE Philippines remains a top crew supplier to the global fleet and will soon be a "global maritime hub" following strengthened maritime education and training services in the country, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.

The infrastructure, port developments and modernization of the whole transport industry will accelerate the country's bid to be a global maritime hub, he said in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 24.The President said that maritime education in the Philippines has been strengthened so that Filipino seafarers can continue to excel.

"This will progress and solidify our country's position as a 'global maritime hub' through the steady supply of competent Filipino seafarers to foreign merchant marine vessels," he said.

Marcos added that the "bane of the mismatch between jobs and skills among our workforce is being rectified through strengthened government-industry-labor-academe partnerships and the continuous reskilling and upskilling training programs that we have put before our workforce."

The recent changes in shipping technologies require the upskilling of nearly 2 million seafarers, 25 to 30 percent of whom are Filipinos.

In his speech on June 26 at the seafarer summit entitled "Shaping the Future of Shipping–Seafarer 2050," (https://pco.gov.ph/presidential-speech/speech-by-president-ferdinand-r-m...) Marcos called for "all hands on deck to shape the future of the maritime industry and global trade."

He said that this could be done by identifying skills requirements for the new generation of digitalized and automated ships and discussing the education and training required of seafarers for the transition to a "future-ready and resilient industry."

In his annual address, Marcos said that the question of the European Union's recognition of the standards of training of Filipino seafarers has, after 17 years, finally been resolved.

"This development now effectively maintains the Filipino seafarer's distinct competitive advantage in the global shipping labor market," he said.