CHALLENGES BEFORE MARINE PROFESSION IN INDIA - A SMALL THOUGHT

MARINESHELF publishes articles contributed by seafarers and other marine related sites solely for the benefit of seafarers .All copyright materials are owned by its respective authors or publishers.

Indian officers are specially a respected lot in the maritime industry, even though the crew lag behind the Filipinos who are natural born seamen due to the natural conditions prevailing there with thousands of island around; still Indian crew have also started to work their ways to the top. Academically Indians have done a good job especially when we compare their analytical skills and coming to a logical conclusion faster and effectively solving the problem successfully. Hats off to the senior marine officers who have imparted their knowledge and skills to the new seafarers. However there are areas where we have to improve and also move forward to keep up our standards. Some common points that are affecting the Indian seafarers are due to the large flooding of colleges approved by DG which have not only become commercial but also has brought down the standard of the officers. Of late DG has also started to crack down on these institutes and that is a good sign. More and more practical skills need to be imparted to officers from both the deck and engine as just being good theoretically doesn’t mean that you are perfect and can handle all situations. When one is faced with a tough situation it is also his practical knowledge that comes to play and help save time and money, as shipping is all about money these days. This is where the importance of the new maritime institutes and the faculty who train the candidates are put to test. Psychometric tests adopted during selection procedures of the seafarers have already started yielding results with people with strong will power and cool and composed mind coming up the stream; they have also helped the sea farers to undergo tension and breakdowns in a cool and composed manner. The faculty should also emphasize on a holistic approach of teaching when they do with the seafarers. Even though the opportunities for seafarers in the shore job has increased with the presence of a lot of institutes popping up the same cannot be said about the standard these institutes are are bringing out in the form of cadets; there has definitely been a downfall in the professional standards of the candidates passing out of some of these institutes; hence the challenge before the maritime industry  in India is multifold with students only concerned about their promotion and salaries and not interested in their jobs.Most of the candidates who join are also only influenced by the lifestyle of the seafarers but haven’t really got down to see what the profession is really about; also we cannot blame them completely as institutes in order to get more students also have lowered their standards of selection and criteria as it has really become a good money making business.

WHAT IS NEEDED

A)    A reality check on all institutes and cancel licences to those underperforming and cannot offer a placement

B)    Compulsory psychometric tests for selecting candidates apart from their academic performance

C)    Candidates to be exposed to the reality of the job and should be well briefed about the requirements of the job

D)    Institutes to have more practical based training to help the candidate in their job onboard, ship in campus is a right step towards this goal,but adequate training is also required and must be provided by the institutes.

E)     Experienced trainers required in the institutes who can impart both practical and theoretical knowledge

F)     Corrupt practices in maritime industry specially for employment and agencies who just take candidates by taking money must be stopped immediately.

G)    Competition among seafarers for best seafarer in each company should be encouraged based on performance

H)    Candidates who clear their exams in a limited time also to be rewarded suitably by the companies

I)       Promotions also to be both experienced and knowledge based.

For all this to happen the faculty who train the seafarers will be the ones responsible to bring out the best in the candidates and also impart the best knowledge and training required ; so its just not enough that the trainers undergo a TOTA course or are doing a side business more dedication and teamwork from them is also required. Also there should be workshops held for the entire teaching faculty from across India regularly to impart them with the new technical knowledge and skills in teaching the new generation sea farers. Knowledge is definitely to be shared but should not be made into a business and a money making racket.

Even though it’s a small initiative I have tried to put the cause of Indian seafarers specially the new generation ones problems and the immediate requirements that has to be addressed to make India a no.1 maritime nation in the world, I welcome your kind suggestions and other ideas to make our nation a maritime force in the world.