Moreover, it is also a ticket into the bright spot of the global maritime industry-the kitchen of every ship that calls on the world's major economic centers.
Last June 3, Filipino joined 36 others who were first-batch graduates of the six-month commercial cooking course at the Northwestern Mindanao Institute of Technology (NMIT)-Culinary Center of Asia here.
The course is part of the fast-track cook cadet program jointly undertaken by NMIT and Maersk Filipinas Crewing Inc., a subsidiary of Denmark-based A.P Moller-Maersk.
As it is the first and only program in the country, the June 3 ceremony marks the country's first strategic inroad into this new field of opportunity in the global maritime industry.
This was why the ceremony was attended by top-ranking officials of the maritime industry like Captain Jerome delos Angeles, president of Maersk Filipinas; Per Hjerrild, Maersk provision superintendent and owner's representative based in Copenhagen; and David Averey, a representative from Maersk-UK.
Current focus
The program seeks to answer the shortage of quality-trained cooks manning the kitchens of ships worldwide, said Captain Rene A. Maglasang, chair of the board of NMIT, which was founded in August 2006 along this purpose.
According to Maglasang, the trend is towards standardizing the skills requirements for this type of ship crew in line with the CF69 regulation of the International Maritime Organization and International Labor Organization that required all cooks of vessels to be licensed.
This means they should have a certificate of competency from an appropriate regulatory body attesting to their skills.
Maglasang explained that the regulation is meant to provide quality food service to the seafaring crew.
He added that this is an area of the global maritime industry that Filipinos can take full advantage of, saying, "After all, we are a people who loves food and cooking so much."
Labor Secretary Arturo D. Brion, who was keynote speaker of the June 3 ceremony, lauded the NMIT-Maersk training partnership.
Brion said it helps position the Filipino labor force in the highly competitive global maritime industry, which is among the current focus of the labor department.
European dishes
The program's fast-track commercial cooking course is a six-month training that intends to equip so-called "cook cadets" with appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes to become cooks aboard ships.
Preparation of European dishes is the major focus of the culinary training.
The training focuses thoroughly on developing proficiency as defined in the Cook's Duties and Responsibilities in the Galley, and in compliance of local and international maritime rules and regulations, said Maglasang who is an international seafarer before.
To become a cook cadet, one should not be more than 30 years old and pass the qualifying exam and skills assessment.
For those admitted, they will train under Maersk-trained NMIT personnel as well as Maersk's own course instructors whom it assigned here.
Those who satisfactorily complete the six-month training are assured of a six-month contract aboard a Maersk vessel. The first batch of 22 males and 15 females, which began training December last year, is expected to start their vessel assignment by the last week of June.
Apart from training new cooks, the NMIT-Maersk partnership also seeks to upgrade the skills of existing ones through its 16-day upgrading program.
Maersk is among the biggest cargo shipping company in the world, dividing its international operations into three fleets with bases in Singapore, Copenhagen in Denmark, and the United Kingdom.
As of now, the company employs around 3,000 Filipino ratings and officers.
Maglasang said that with the NMIT partnership, the presence of Filipinos in the company is expected to rise.
