1. Singapore, 26 April 2018 – The 5th graduation ceremony for Certificate of Competency (Special Limit) programmes took place earlier today at Singapore Polytechnic. Graced by Mr Ng Cher Pong, Chief Executive, SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), the event saw a mix of cadets who will embark on their first seafaring careers, as well as those advancing in their careers.

2. Seafarers working on board a ship must have a valid Certificate of Competency (CoC) or endorsement, which complies with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). In Singapore, these are issued by the Training Standards Department of Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). A CoC is valid for five years and is to be re-validated after, for the holder to qualify for sea service.

409 cadets enrolled to CoC since its launch

3. A total of 10 Deck Officers and eight Marine Engineers graduated from the CoC Class 5 (Special Limit) programme. Since its introduction in 2011 and 2012 respectively, a total of 123 Class 5 officers have successfully attained their CoC.

4. Additionally, seven Master and 15 Chief Engineers have graduated from the Class 4 (Special Limit) programme. Introduced in 2016, this is the second batch of graduates under the programme. These graduates also received the SkillsFuture Study Award, a monetary incentive of $5,000 on top of existing training grants, in recognition for their efforts to deepen their expertise in the maritime industry.

5. Mr Ng said at the graduation ceremony, “The training environment in the Maritime industry is a good illustration of the SkillsFuture movement. We work on creating a culture of lifelong learning, which is supported by a range of quality training programmes, to build a workforce that not only remains relevant for the challenges of today but is also nimble enough to meet demands of the future economy.”

6. Mr Andrew Tan, Chief Executive of MPA, said, “MPA is committed to grow a pipeline of skilled local seafarers to support the growth and transformation of the industry. We’ve recently signed a MOU with Singapore Shipping Association and the Unions to develop a future-ready pool of seafarers and equip them with the skills to cope with trends towards digitalisation and automation in the maritime sector. We will continue to fine-tune our programmes to meet the needs of the industry.”

7. Mr Gilbert Tan, CEO of e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), said, “The CoC Special Limit programme has come a long way since its introduction in 2011 by e2i, MPA and WSG, and we are extremely proud to witness our cadets reaping the fruits of their labour as they graduate today. In today’s interconnected world of commerce, more than 90% of the world’s trade is carried by sea and the career opportunities of these graduates in maritime is vast. To maintain their employability and competitiveness in the realm of global digitalisation, it is important that our graduates keep themselves abreast of industry developments. The achievement of the CoC Class 4 milestone is thus not an end but a starting point to achieve greater career mastery through continuous learning.”

8. The event also saw 44 cadets who have completed their course with the Singapore Maritime Academy. This brought the total enrolment for the CoC (Special Limit) programmes to 409 to-date.

9. The CoC (Special Limit) programmes initiated by MPA, the National Trades Union Congress’s (NTUC) e2i and the then-Workforce Development Agency aimed to deepen the skills of seafarers and provide a structured career pathway so that they could progress in the maritime industry to become Chief Mates and 2nd Engineers and eventually upgrade to the level of Masters and Chief Engineers. The programme prepares seafarers to serve on board ships operating within “Special Limits” near Singapore.