For a long time, Europe slammed the door shut on Filipino seafarers away, preventing them from earning their keep and supporting their families on their own.
The door kept shut in the last 16 years after the Philippines failed to pass the standards set by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) on local training and education.
The deficiencies identified by the European Union covered five main areas: monitoring, supervision, and evaluation of manning training and assessment; examination and assessment of competence, programs and course design and approval; availability and use of training facilities and simulators; onboard training and issue revalidation; and recognition of certification endorsements.
What has the Philippine government done to address these deficiencies?
First, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), and maritime higher education institutions crafted an enhanced curriculum to improve the country’s maritime education and thus meet standards set by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (SCTW).
Second, CHEd closed down 15 maritime programs for noncompliance with maritime standards, and will maintain a five-year moratorium imposed in 2022 on opening new programs to allow the government to focus on existing ones.
And third, the government will continue to monitor all maritime schools not just to ensure they implement the curriculum but also to see to it that they have the necessary equipment and facilities, including competent teachers, to satisfy EMSA standards.
All these appear to have sufficiently convinced the European Union (EU) to resume recognition of the certificates of Filipino seafarers. The EU Commissioner for Mobility and Transport said they “appreciate the constructive cooperation with the Philippine authorities and welcome their efforts to improve the system for training and certifying seafarers.”
Filipino seafarers comprise a significant and valued part of the European and global shipping industry’s maritime workforce since some 50,000 of them currently work on ships carrying the EU flag.
With the Philippines now assured of EU technical support to further improve the implementation and oversight of minimum education, training, and certification requirements, as well as living and working conditions, our maritime industry faces a brighter future in the years ahead, thanks to the government’s efforts to help our seafarers.