By Fawwaz Baktee
The Sectoral Tripartite Committee for Transport (Sea) has come up with new measures to attract Singaporeans and help them deepen skills and advance their careers in the seafaring and shore-based sector, announced Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean at the Singapore Shipping Association’s (SSA) 30th anniversary gala dinner on 25 September 2015.
He reiterated the importance of maritime in Singapore’s economy, stating the industry accounts for 7 per cent of GDP and 170,000 employees. He also stressed that “human capital is a key enabler for the future” of Singapore’s maritime industry.
Strong Singaporean Core
Focused on strengthening the Singaporean core in the maritime industry, the initiatives include various SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programmes, and national-level jobs portal Maritime Singapore Connect (MSC) that will give Singaporeans access to maritime job openings and information on maritime education and training options.
Funding for the initiatives will be drawn from the $115 million Maritime Cluster Fund – Manpower Development and the National SkillsFuture Budget. The committee, which consists of Taskforce Sea and Taskforce Shore and include NTUC-affiliated unions, government agencies and employers, is looking to attract more than 1,200 Singaporeans to join the maritime sector as seafarers and port operations officers with the new initiatives.
“We see great opportunities within the maritime sector for Singapore to grow its core, and also to expand the number of opportunities for Singaporeans taking on seafaring as well as shore-based jobs. Through the tripartite taskforces, we have identified several measures.
“As part of SkillsFuture Earn and Learn, we are developing on-the-job training for port operations, for seafarers to leverage on the incentives for them to reach the top of their professions,” said Maritime Port Authority of Singapore’s Chief Executive Andrew Tan, who is also Chairman of the tripartite committee.
Source: NTUC This Week
