Friday, July 25, 2008 Norwegian shipping firms need 30T Pinoy workers By Reynaldo G. Navales
CLARK FREEPORT -- About 500 Norwegian shipping companies are looking for more than 30,000 Filipino mess boys, steward cooks and welders.
This was learned from the officials of the Norwegian Marine Services Training Institute Corporation (NMSTIC) who have forged an agreement with Clark Development Corporation (CDC) for their training facility inside the Freeport.
A memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed last Wednesday between CDC and NMSTIC officials.
CDC president Liberato Laus represented the state-owned firm while Maria Rune represented the NMSTIC during the MOA signing at the CDC corporate headquarters.
The signing, according to Laus, is a joint initiative of the two firms to provide jobs and opportunities for Central Luzon residents to meet the growing manpower demands of international maritime industry.
Rune said NMSTIC has tentatively opened its training school at the Clark Polytechnic University here for mess boys, and cooks and specialized welding program on May 9.
In the agreement, NMSTIC will provide state-of-the-art training facilities in kitchen and culinary operations, other simulations in chamber operations, air-conditioned classrooms, multi-media training, speech laboratory and dormitories.
NMSTIC vice president Erling Rune said training for mess boys would usually run for 22 days while training for cooks and welder runs for one month.
Erling said NMSTIC only charges P1,500 as tuition. The fee is inclusive of food, room accommodation, and materials to be used during the training.
He said the cooks and mess boys are on a high demand in the shipping industry in Norway and nearby European countries.
He also said that training will facilitate employment to successful candidates after the completion of their training. NMSTIC is working closely with Norwegian Seafarer agencies such as Solvan Manpower Agency, Barber Smith Wilhensen manning Inc., and CF Sharp Mideast Shipping CTI.
According to Erling, NMSTIC employs a world-class international faculty, chef consultants and instructors to the training programs who will mostly come from Norway, Sweden, the US, India, Scotland and other European countries.
