Institute condemns maritime agencies, stakeholders for rejecting students seeking industrial Attachment

By ZION Olalekan

The Rector of the Certified Institute of Shipping (CIS) Dr. Alex Okwuashi has criticized maritime sector players and agencies for abandoning the training institutions and even refusing to accept some of the students seeking industrial attachment.

Okwuashi stated this while delivering a lecture at the Economic Growth Summit in Lagos.

Represented by the Registrar of the institution, Mr. Gabriel Eto, Okwuashi noted that there is a disconnect between the Nigerian maritime operators and the maritime education and training institutions.

According to him, students coming out of training institutions find it difficult to get placement for their Industrial Training (IT) because maritime employers don’t want to pay a token for their transportation.

He argued that in other advanced countries, the maritime sector development is anchored on the maritime education system of the country.

He said such nations maritime is developed based on talent and innovation from the various academies while in Nigeria; emphasis is placed on politics and quota system.

He said “If you are talking about skilled manpower, it is from maritime education, if you are talking about innovation, it is from the maritime education, so there is a need for the maritime education sector to be seen as a partner in progress with the mainstream maritime industry”

“There is no collaboration between the maritime sector and the maritime education sector, this is why we are suffering in the industry, our students hardly get a place to so their IT. Today if you ask us to mention the subunits of the maritime sector, you will not hear the maritime education unit, we are treated as outsiders and it is very unfortunate”

“Students don’t have a place to run their IT training, the employers are always scared of paying the students, not even an allowance to transport themselves to work and yet the students are going to be productive, they find them useful and yet they cannot help them with little money to pay their transport, it is not encouraging”

” They want them to work for free, even some that are ready to work for free are not even allowed, they feel that they have an over bloated workforce so they don’t want any other person” he lamented.