The Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved $454,000 for sea-time training for Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme organised by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and safety Agency (NIMASA).
The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, made this known at the end of the second session of the virtual meeting of the FEC coordinated from the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.
According to Amaechi, the objectives of the Consultancy training services includes among others:
“To build capacity of the Nigerian Youths to take over the lucrative jobs available in the maritime sector, hither to dominated by foreigners locally and to export excess Nigerian seamen to fill available spaces globally.
“To enable over 1000 idling Nigeria seafarers that have graduated but yet to obtain requisite certificate of competency required of them, so as to be gainfully employed as officers and masters on board ships.
“There is currently global scarcity of sea-time training spaces on-board merchant ship, thereby making it imperative for NIMASA to take advantage of the opportunity to build requisite capacity.
“The need to further reduce unemployment rate in the country and the fact that Messr SWETS MARINE have given guarantee of adequate spaces to absorb 170 cadets, in addition to guaranteeing job placement on-board Chevron vessels for all cadets that would excel during the trainingnan”.
