Realizing the value of a maritime career for the youth

Friday, 29 April 2011 10:30

Written by Aaron Benedict De Leon

The youth of today has too many biases towards blue-collar jobs because of their perceived notion that the walking, corporate attire-clad ladies and gentlemen in the streets of Makati and Taguig have the most attractive salaries in today’s job market. But it’s not what you see sometimes, or most of the time, but in the paycheck and what’s in store for the future that matters.

Indeed, there have been efforts on the part of the government to boost jobs hiring in some sectors. But unless the biases of young people and their preferences are not reversed with proper and adequate education, the trend of jobs mismatch will just to continue to expand, if not explode, soon.

This is why exploring other industries’ potential becomes more urgent, as almost 400,000 graduates are produced annually. The demand for nurses has dwindled, and it is believed that in the coming years we would have an oversupply of nurses that the job market cannot accommodate. But when you look at the other end of the spectrum, we have the manning and maritime industry looking for more seafarers to be deployed locally and abroad.

In fact, there has been an increase in the demand for seafarers principally brought about by fleet expansion, as predicted by the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) since the early 1990’s.

This is where our bias and pride come into play. Many look at the maritime industry with discrimination because of its blue-collar nature. But for a young man looking to feed his family, to reach his financial dreams and to attain his fulfillment in life, he has to discover the horizon beyond his reach and his perspective.

I could never emphasize more the enormous potential of our maritime and manning sector, as 29% of the world’s total seafarers come from the Philippines. The international market believes in the skill and competency of the Filipino marino, thus we must continue to leverage on that trust and confidence.

The demand for seafarers is greater than the supply, thus there is a huge opportunity for Filipinos to excel in this industry, considering our tremendous character of adaptability. We are used to these conditions because of the archipelagic nature of our country, and a unique familiarity with the intricacies of modern day technology – something we take pride in with our competency as Filipino laborers.

Our educational institutions, beginning in high school, must promote the value not only of technical and vocational careers but also that of the maritime and manning profession. We should not be confined to thinking that maritime life is only about life in the seas. There are also a number of land-based jobs available to seafarers.

I think it is high time that public-private sector efforts be intensified and concentrated toward encouraging young people to consider a career in the maritime industry.

We appeal to the CHED and the DepEd to have an organized flow of education with regards to the maritime industry, and that the DepEd include maritime learning in its plan to implement the K12 basic education program.

Though there have been initiatives aimed at including maritime clubs as part of the extra-curricular programs of high schools, we must move towards the direction of integrating it into the mainstream educational curriculum to increase awareness for the maritime profession.

There are many seafarers across the globe who have immensely contributed to our national economy through OFW remittances (where the official remittances received through allotments to families of seafarers amount to almost $4 billion) as well as through the impact of their multiplier effect on support industries indicating a generation of another P6 billion from schools, training centers, medical clinics, tourism and other services. They deserve our applause and great credit. Now is the time for the general public to recognize the contributions of those who have worked hard in the manning industry to contribute to the national economy and see the enormous opportunities that we are provided by the maritime sector.

I hope civil society entities from the youth sector do not just focus on complaining about the lack of jobs, but also focus on advocacies towards promoting certain industries like the maritime sector as a career of choice for young ones.

In this highly globalized environment that we are living in, there are enormous opportunities awaiting the young Filipino in the maritime industry, and it is our job, as youth leaders, to see and promote the value of this sector to our constituents.

It is our vision to continue living with the “brand” which has been bestowed upon us by the international manning industry – the Filipinos being “their seafarer of choice.”

This is a legacy, that us, the youth, would want to preserve and protect for our generation and for the next ones that would ensue.