NIMASA offers 20 cadets immediate employment

NIMASA offers 20 cadets immediate employment

By Udeme Clement

The Director General ,DG, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ,NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside has announced the decision of NIMASA  to offer automatic employment  to 20 Cadets, who are the beneficiaries of Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme ,NSDP, for passing out with distinctions in their various fields of study.

He disclosed this during the flag-off ceremony of the first phase of  NIMASA’s sponsored sea time training for cadets, expressed delight that hope beckons for Nigeria maritime sector through this feat.

The NIMASA DG acknowledged the fact that sea time berth is a global challenge, which the International Maritime Organisation ,IMO, also admits, but Nigeria is leaving no stone unturned in changing the tide, hence the Agency’s determination to ensure that all the cadets in NSDP scheme get  mandatory sea time training in batches.

He point out, “So far the NSDP initiative has produced 243 graduates, 1,600 cadets at various stages of completion of the programme out of which 887 are ready for sea-time training. In the first phase, 150 Cadets under the scheme are bound for Arab Academy of Science, Technology and Marine Transportation in Alexandria, Egypt to commence their mandatory sea-time training, 89 others are bound for the South Tyneside College, United Kingdom for their on-board sea-time training, making it a total of 239 in the first phase of the programme”.

“As some of you may already know, berth spaces are not easy to come by, therefore one of the biggest challenges we had was sourcing for berth spaces for the cadets, coupled with the desire of this administration to follow due process in all our dealings. We are pleased that we did not fall into the temptation of taking short cuts at any time, we have therefore engaged various Maritime Training Institutions to provide this essential service”.

Dr. Peterside thanked the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi for support and commitment to the growth of the nation’s maritime sector and assured him of the Agency’s continuous support in his quest to transform the maritime sector.

His words:  “Let me thank the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi who has been up and doing about growing the maritime sector in Nigeria and to say to him to count NIMASA as number one supporter and one Agency that will go ahead and support him to turn around the fortunes of the nation’s maritime sector”.

The NIMASA DG also thanked stakeholders and industry players and called on them to continue to partner the Agency in its quest for a robust and more virile maritime sector.