TACLOBAN CITY – In pursuit to monitor the realization of its efforts to continually provide trainings and conduct relevant researches to upgrade the country’s maritime resources, the National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) conducted its 3rd Regular Board of Trustees (BOT) Meeting for FY 2021 held on December 13, 2021 through the virtual platform.

The meeting was presided by Undersecretary Renato L. Ebarle, Cluster Head, Employment and General Administration Cluster, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and was also joined by members of the BOT from the Philippine Association of Maritime Institution (PAMI), Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). DOLE Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III was also present to oversee the proceedings of the meeting.

One of the highlights that transpired during the BOT meeting was the approval of the newly developed course on Ship Security Officer (SSO). As reported by NMP Executive Director Joel B. Maglunsod, the grant of full accreditation of the SSO course was communicated by the Maritime Industry Authority–Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (MARINA-STCW) through a letter to NMP dated 09 December 2021, as a result of the evaluation and inspection conducted by their office last 3-5 November 2021. The training on SSO is intended for seafarers working on board vessels requiring qualification and employment as a Ship Security Officer.

The newly developed course on Technical Writing for Seafarers (TWS) was likewise presented to the Board by Deputy Executive Director Mayla N. Macadawan and was subsequently approved by the body. The TWS is a Non-STCW course designed and developed to enhance the competence in oral and written English communication of Filipino seafarers. The course will be conducted for 5-days using an online learning platform.

Further, in fulfillment of its second mandate on the conduct of research studies for the maritime industry, NMP provided the members of the Board the copy of NMP’s Research Agenda 2021-2023 to solicit some inputs in order to ensure that the research studies to be undertaken are relevant and responsive to the emerging needs of the seafarers and the maritime industry as a whole. While the completed research in 2020 entitled An Examination of the Online Learning Readiness of Filipino Seafarers was also reported.

For more information and updates about NMP trainings, interested stakeholders may visit the NMP website at www.nmp.gov.ph/ or https://register.nmp.gov.ph/ to register online, while NMP’s ongoing and completed researches may be accessed through our e-Research Portal at https://research.nmp.gov.ph/.