Education, training and career development - crucial for safe operations
Once upon a time, the majority of those who went to sea did so because they wanted to be the master or chief engineer of a ship - others simply wanted to go to sea. Very few had aspirations towards a career ashore.
The MNTB has recently reviewed its training programmes for seagoing Officer Trainees. One area that has been neglected in the past has been shore-based ship management. The MNTB has therefore developed a suite of National Occupational Standards covering shore-based ship management occupations.
Captain Watkins reflects on some important human element issues. Hitherto, the senior officers on most of our ships would come from the Commonwealth countries but we are now seeing some good masters emerging particularly from the Peoples' Republic of China (PRC), the Ukraine and the Philippines.
Too much information! Too many disparate information management systems?
