NMP’s 1^st Batch of Management Level Course Function 1 with their instructor Capt. Jonifer C. Nuevas (center)

Along the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) mission in the promotion of gainful employment opportunities and development of human resources, the National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP), serving within its mandate on upgrading the skills and competencies of the country’s seafarers continued to pursue priority thrusts on training quality, access and relevance and responsive maritime researches.

With the NMP’s determination of addressing the shortage of Filipino merchant marine officers, the Agency intensified its activities on the development of new training courses which include among others the Management Level Course (MLC) for Marine Deck Officers (Functions 1-3).

It can be recalled that the NMP submitted its application for accreditation for the said course in CY 2016 but was officially acted upon by the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) in      CY 2017 due to a moratorium issued by them under STCW Advisory No. 2016-01 dated February 29, 2016, entitled “Moratorium on the Accreditation of Maritime Training Courses/Programs”.

As per formal letter received from MARINA dated 30 January 2018, NMP was granted full course approval valid for a period of three (3) years along with the accreditation of instructors, assessors and supervisors who will be handling the said course.

NMP’s first batch of classes for MLC Function 1 opened on 16 July 2018 and will end on     27 August 2018 with five (5) participants.   Same enrollees will take the MLC Function 2 (03-14 September 2018) and Function 3 (17 September – 05 October 2018).

MLC for Marine Deck Officers is a 45-day course divided into three (3) Functions.  Function 1 (Navigation at the Management Level) has seven (7) modules; Function 2 (Cargo Handling and Stowage at the Management Level)  with two (2) modules; and Function 3 (Controlling the Operation of the Ship and Care for Persons on Board at the Management Level) with six (6) modules.

Deck officers who have taken up the course are expected to have acquired competence to be capable of taking full responsibility for the safety and security of the ship, its passengers, crew, and cargo, and for the protection of the marine environment against pollution emitted by ship.  Seafarers become aware of their obligations under the international agreements and conventions concerning safety and the protection of the maritime environment and are able to take practical measures necessary to meet those obligations.

Meanwhile, NMP continues to upgrade its facilities and provide maritime training required pursuant to the STCW Convention as amended in 2010 including value-adding courses towards improving the qualifications of Filipino seafarers for their employment acceptability and enhanced competitiveness.  It also regularly conducts maritime studies to come up with policies for the improvement of the manpower sector of the industry.

Those interested in NMP research undertakings may visit the NMP website (www.nm.gov.ph) and access the e-Research Information System Portal which is designed for gathering inputs for NMP’s research, dissemination of NMP completed researches and other articles pertaining to maritime research.

For more information about NMP trainings, viewers may visit the agency’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/nmptrainingcenter) where all related information on NMP training are available.