Philippines new training ground for foreign seafarers

MANILA, Philippines – Aside from being a major source of manpower for the world’s commercial shipping companies, the Philippines is now becoming a training ground for foreign seafarers.

Epifanio Joaquin, founder and chief executive officer of Consolidated Training Systems Inc. (CTSI), said the Philippines provides 25 percent of the world’s commercial shipping crews.

“With giants from the shipping industry already having established roots in the country, recruitment and deployment opportunities for Filipinos are coming in fast. With demand for crew in various shipping segments booming, it will be a challenge for the Philippine recruitment industry to keep up with the demands of sourcing, processing and training over the next forecasted five years,” Joaquin said.

Joaquin said the Philippines has the most complete facilities with one of the largest footprints in Southeast Asia.

“We’ve got an excellent track record, world class training equipment and facilities, modern and well equipped classrooms, cutting-edge technical support services, modern accommodations and catering services, the best training staff and unparalleled competency to see it done,” he said.

CTSI has inked a deal with Holland America Group headed by Capt. Andre van Schoonhoven to exclusively train their crew in compliance with International Maritime Organization standards and to satisfy Holland America Line’s drive to employ the best trained crew possible.

“We don’t know what the other players are planning but Holland America’s vision is very clear and we’re very proud to be a part of their plans in the coming years to bring Filipino crew to a whole new performance level and in greater numbers serving worldwide.  We are very excited for the future. We see this as another opportunity for Filipinos to shine globally,” he said.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) data showed the number of deployed Filipino seafarers has grown steadily to 401,826 in 2014 from 347,150 in 2010.

In terms of remittances, Filipino sea-based workers sent home $5.79 billion last year or 5.3 percent higher compared with $5.5 billion in 2014. Sea-based workers accounted for 22.5 percent of the record $25.77 billion cash remittances booked in 2015.

For his part, Van Schoonhoven said about 45 percent of all its crews are Filipinos.

“We carry the most important cargo imaginable, people. It is our customers, the people who make up our passengers, who make Holland America Line one of the best-ranked cruise ship companies in the world. It’s a great time to be in the cruise ship industry and right now we’re thriving and investing to grow even bigger over the coming years,” Van Schoonhoven said.

According to him, the company’s Indonesian crews are trained in the Philippines to keep them up to the same standards as their Filipino colleagues and to get consistency in the company specific trainings.

Van Schoonhoven said the company has trained a number of their Indonesian crew in the Philippines and intends to start training other nationalities including Europeans.

“We really took the time to find the right training partner who could ensure good value for money, high training quality and certification integrity without sacrificing capacity.  Like I said, the industry is growing and we need to be able to run crew through serious training and get them deployed as soon as possible to the ships,” he said.

Van Schoonhoven explained the company is standardizing its training regime and crew training schedules over the next five years to make sure this would be compliant with all the international requirements and at a level expected by Holland America Line’s senior management and guests. 

“We cannot compromise the safety of passengers and crew and we are doing a lot more than just IMO training. We are having CTSI run crisis management courses, forklift training, man-lifting training and various emergency response courses as well,” he said.

Van Schoonhoven explained the company believes it could edge out competition by not just providing luxury and comfort but safety and peace of mind as well.

“We’re always working to be number one. With well-trained Filipinos putting in the hard work on our vessels we see that as a reality that’s taking shape.  We’ve got new vessels coming out of the shipyards this year and plan to keep building for as long as the industry remains robust,” Van Schoonhoven said.

Holland America Line, a subsidiary of Miami-based Carnival Corp. & plc, owns and operates some of the most prestigious and sought after cruise ship brands in the world including Carnival Cruise Lines, P & O Princess Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Cunard Lines.