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19 young Seychellois to undergo pre-sea training in Sri Lanka |28 June 2016

A third group of Seychellois seafarers left for the Colombo International Nautical and Engineering College (Cinec) in Sri Lanka over the weekend to follow a pre-sea training.

A one-month basic STCW (standards of training certification and watch) course followed at the Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA) prepared the 19 fellow Seychellois for their four-month programme in Sri Lanka.

They were presented with their travelling documents and certificates during a short ceremony held on Friday in the presence of the chief executive of the Seychelles Petroleum Company (Seypec) Conrad Benoiton, Seypec staff members, the young cadets and their parents.

This opportunity has been presented to them through Seypec’s journey of an active recruitment drive guided by its long-term goal to fully localise the manning of its tanker fleet by 2020.

The pre-sea course training in deck and engine at Cinec will include both theory and practical applications and it is fully sponsored by the Seypec.

There are 31 other young mariners who have gone through the same programme.

Through a video presentation, the youngest Seychellois Master, Adrian Mondon, shared an inspirational message about his journey with Seypec which he started in 2002.

His advice is that if you want to be a seaman you have to have a love for the sea.

Mr Benoiton expressed his gratitude to the parents who raised these fine young cadets and the SMA for its joint collaboration and support especially during the last three years.

He stated that Seypec has about 110 Seychellois mariners who are now working on their tankers and the group of 19 who left on Saturday together with the 31 who have already followed the training will continue to increase the number of Seychellois on its tankers.

His message to the young cadets is: “The four-month programme in Sri Lanka should certainly orientate yourselves as to the environment of a seafarer beyond what you are required to hold, in terms of certification in your hands because we feel that it is best you have in-depth environmental knowledge and concept of what you are going to be as your are boarding the tankers out there in the international world.”

Herick Azemia, who was recruited by Seypec after finishing his engineering course at the Seychelles Institute of Technology (Sit), said: “I hope to gain more skills and to add on to what I have already learnt and I’m doing this because since I was younger I’ve had a passion for the sea accompanied by my desire to travel the world and after completing my engineering course I thought why not take this opportunity with Seypec to get both at once.”

After completing her post-secondary studies at the SMA, Kelpha Havelock joined the National Institute of Health and Social Studies (NIHSS) because at that time Seypec was not offering this opportunity to girls.

After her time at the NIHSS, she gained some experience in nursing and then came forward when she knew Seypec was also taking girls on the programme.

Now at 27, Kelpha said: “I have always wanted to work on tankers from the time when I first visited a tanker while I was in secondary so my love for it started at that moment.”

She encourages girls and women to take up a career at sea as for her a woman’s place is no longer just at home or going home straight from work.

“When we get the same opportunity that men do, we need to seize it,” she said.

 

 

 

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