YET another good ISF Manning and Training Conference on September 30th. STCW, the Maritime Labour Convention and criminalisation of seafarers were all under the spotlight with fears of a growing shortfall in seafarer numbers hovering always just beneath the surface.
Research by the Nippon Foundation suggests seafarer numbers will have to grow by just over 7% in the next 10 years – that's 32,000 officers and 47,000 new ratings. This is perhaps a less alarming figure than some recent estimates. Let's see what the BIMCO / ISF Study comes up with following extensive data input from national administrations.
Following our discussion about cadets' career prospects some of you have been in touch. There are Changing Course readers out there who may need to top up their OOW recruitment, most notably 3rd engineers. So, if you're due to qualify and don't have a job lined up with your sponsor, contact us on [email protected] and we'll put you in touch with someone who just might be able to help.
