Maritime training for RI seamen

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Seafarers Association (KPI) signed a memorandum of understanding on vocational training with several maritime academies and oil company Pertamina on Saturday to improve the quality of Indonesian seamen both at home and overseas.

With the MOU, KPI, the maritime academies and Pertamina's vocational training center will cooperate to provide training for seamen and job seekers to be recruited by local and foreign shipping companies.

Rev. Charles P. Edwards B., chairman of the Bina Bahtera Karya Mandiri foundation that runs a maritime academy in Cilacap, Central Java, said the college produced some 100 graduates annually but most of them were still unemployed because they had no access to work in local and foreign shipping companies.

"Most of graduates of our academy have the maritime skills but only few of them were able to get employment after paying a large sum of money to recruiting agencies," he said.

"Some, who were employed in foreign shipping companies paid more than Rp 40 million (US$4,211) each to recruiting agencies that enabled them to get the job."

Charles, a Catholic priest in Cilacap, said that with the MOU, his foundation would cooperate with KPI to recruit the academy's graduates to work in local and foreign shipping companies.

S. Sharma, representative of the International Transportation Federation (ITF) in Indonesia, appreciated the MOU as an attempt to improve the quality of Indonesian seafarers.

He said ITF had been active to provide protection for Indonesian seamen and to give recommendations to numerous developed countries to recruit Indonesian workers in their shipping companies.

Hanafie, chairman of KPI, a trade union under the Federation of All-Indonesian Workers Union (FSPSI), said the agreement was much needed to improve the quality of Indonesian seafarers.

"The number of Indonesian seafarers has reached more than 870,000, but 70 percent of them have no appropriate skills and, therefore, they are underpaid," he said.

He noted that many shipping companies required skilled wielders, painters, crew and captains but Indonesia could not meet the requirements due to the lack of skilled workers.

Much. Achmad, director of Pertamina's training center for ship crews, said Pertamina also lacked skilled workers to be employed as crew members, wielders and painters on its tankers. (rms)