Shipping companies urged to prioritise cadets’ training onboard vessles

Industry experts have emphasised the urgent need for shipping companies worldwide, including those in Nigeria, to rethink their approach to cadet training, as the global shipping sector continues to face mounting labour shortages.

They stated that despite a growing need for skilled seafarers, many shipping companies are not offering enough training opportunities for cadets to gain essential sea time experience required for certification and employment as seafarers onboard vessels.

The experts said shipowners must do more to ensure that cadets are not only allowed to board ships but also receive the proper training to succeed in the industry and secure the future of global maritime trade.

Nigeria, with its significant maritime sector and a large pool of aspiring maritime professionals, is facing the challenge. Despite the country’s growing industry, there is a gap between the number of trained cadets and the limited opportunities for them to complete their sea training and prepare them for the demands of global shipping.

Although, there are not enough indigenously owned vessels in Nigeria, the large number of cadets chun out of maritime institutions do not get sea time training opportunities and have remained unemployed, as shipping companies require high skills and competencies to function.

Both local and international shipping companies are urged to provide more opportunities for cadets to complete their training and gain essential experience.
At the recently concluded Seatrade Maritime Crew Connect Global, the Head of Loss Prevention Asia-Pacific at North Standard, Captain Yves Vandenborn, highlighted the critical need for shipowners to provide more cadet berths to address the growing shortage in the future maritime workforce.

Vandenborn stressed the importance of viewing cadets not as a financial burden but as an investment in the maritime industry’s future. He said shipowners need to step up and see the importance of cadets, noting that many of the big companies have cadet programmes in place, but are simply not enough to meet the needs of the entire industry.

Vandenborn urged shipowners to ensure cadets are given real opportunities to gain sea time, stressing that without this, they will be unable to obtain their necessary certificates to work as full-fledged seafarers, thus contributing to the looming shortage of qualified seafarers.

“Some companies just view cadets as a cost as they do not have their full certificates so cannot do the likes of watchkeeping. A lot of companies are forgetting that you need cadets to secure your future seafarers. The industry must bring cadets onboard and give them meaningful training opportunities. We need to push companies to see the bigger picture,” Vandenborn added.

The Chief Operating Officer and President of OSM Thome, Tommy Olofsen, pointed out that many ships are not designed with enough cadet berths to meet the industry’s growing demand for skilled seafarers.

Olofsen underscored the importance of offering hands-on experience and real training opportunities to cadets rather than relegating them to menial tasks such as painting and chipping.

Olofsen criticised the perception of cadets as cheap labour, noting that some shipping companies view cadets merely as cost-cutting measures, failing to recognise their long-term value.