Simbi Wabote, the executive secretary of the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), has commended the Management of Stoilic Shipping Limited for its commitment to growing indigenous capacity for the Nigerian maritime sector.
According to him, the partnership between both bodies would usher in further progress for the Nigerian maritime industry.
Speaking during NCDMB and Stoilic flagged off a full-scholarship sea-time training for 10 cadets in Lagos on Tuesday, Wabote said the Board is committed to growing capacity for the maritime industry.
He said the agency takes the training very seriously even as he pointed out that maritime training is cost-intensive and would only take the commitment of parties involved.
Wabote, who was represented by Timbiri Augustine, the Board’s Manager of Human and Capital Development, advised the trainees not to be distracted as they may face mild challenges such as turbulent weather, different environments, and language barriers among others.
“We are building capacity and capability, but we are not limiting the use of this capacity to the Nigerian maritime as well as oil and gas industry. The training is the type that will take you to other countries and different ports and therefore commitment is very critical because the standard in view is a global factor, not a Nigerian factor,” he said.
He commended Stoilic Shipping for its commitment to the programme and re-emphasised the Board’s drive to sustain the partnership.
On her part, Irene McFoy, the executive director of Stoilic Shipping, charged the cadets to change the dynamics of shipping companies not wanting Nigerian seafarers by stepping up the standards.
She assured the cadets that the company and its technical partners would take them through different training modules and place them on ocean-going vessels, where they would start preparing for their Certificate of Competency.
Mcfoy also urged the cadets to interact, be humble and learn from their teachers, comply with the rules, and safety guidelines and all given ethical values of the maritime profession.
According to her, the company, as a major private sector leader, wants Nigeria to be one of the foremost countries supplying seafarers to the international maritime industry just like the Philippines.
Pointing out that at least 28 per cent of the Philippines’ revenue comes from seafaring, McFoy, who was in charge of the cadet training at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) before retiring, insisted that there is nothing stopping Nigeria from being the best, or even better than the Philippines.
She said Nigeria is a littoral state that has the manpower and the intelligence that needs to be properly harnessed.
