Future-ready Workforce Takes Centre Stage at Maritime Manpower Forum and Maritime Services Leaders Forum

The third edition of the Maritime Manpower Forum returned on the last day of the Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) 2023. Organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Forum, themed ‘Creating a Pathway towards a Future-ready Maritime Manpower’, gathered key local and international maritime industry experts, thought leaders, and youth representatives to discuss future maritime jobs, talent development, and pathways to shape a resilient and future-ready maritime workforce.
 
Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport, Guest-of-Honour at the Maritime Manpower Forum 2023, announced the launch of the Maritime Workforce Transformation Guidebook on Job Redesign and the establishment of the MaritimeONE-Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) Postgraduate Research & Development Scholarship.


Maritime Workforce Transformation Guidebook on Job Redesign
 
In 2022, MPA supported Singapore Maritime Foundation and homegrown shipping companies (i.e. Pacific International Lines and Pacific Carriers Limited) on a pilot project to redesign two critical job roles supporting the shipping fleet: – Technical Superintendent and Vessel Operator.
 
Key findings and recommendations from the pilot project were consolidated into the Maritime Workforce Transformation Guidebook on Job Redesign. This Guidebook will provide maritime companies with advice and practical steps to help them embark on job redesign efforts and ensure maritime jobs remain attractive and relevant. The full guide can be accessed at https://go.gov.sg/maritime-workforce-transformation-guidebook.
 
MaritimeONE-Singapore Maritime Institute Postgraduate Research & Development Scholarship
 
To further enhance partnership with the maritime centres of excellence and institutes of higher learning supported by MPA to identify high-potential Singaporean and PR students who are keen to embark on a career as researchers in areas related to decarbonisation and digitalisation, these students will be offered the MaritimeONE-SMI Postgraduate Research & Development Scholarship, which fully covers the tuition fees for entire PhD or Masters’ programmes.
 
SMI targets to offer up to nine scholarships, worth a total of S$2.8 million, by end-2025. These scholarships aim to build a quality local maritime research talent pool to deepen Singapore’s specialised R&D capabilities as a global maritime knowledge hub. Application for the scholarship will open in 4Q 2023.
 
MPA Global Internship Award
 
The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will be participating in the MPA-Global Internship Award (GIA) for the first time this year. 39 students from four local universities majoring in various disciplines, from business, information systems, arts & social sciences, and maritime studies, will receive the GIA this year. They will begin on-the-job training with 28 maritime host companies from 1 May 2023.
 
Students will also have an opportunity to be attached to the companies’ overseas offices, where they can be exposed to various job roles in maritime, such as chartering and ship operations, shipbroking, data analytics and marine insurance. To date, there are over 300 undergraduates who have undergone the MPA-GIA programme.
 
Engaging next-generation Maritime Talent
 
To further engage the next-generation maritime workforce, dialogues with youth were also included for the first time at SMW.
 
(a)  At the Maritime Manpower Forum, a youth-focused panel discussion debuted at SMW 2023. Titled “Future Talents of Maritime – Conversations Between Youths and Industry”, the session featured Ms Lu Hui Ting, a MPA’s MaritimeSG Youth Ambassador as one of the panellists. They discussed the prevailing mindsets of young people on joining the maritime sector, the diversity of opportunities available to youth for a fulfilling maritime career, and their thoughts on emerging trends in the sector like decarbonisation and digitalisation. 
 
(b)  To deepen the conversation with youths, MPA also organised “Youth@SMW” - a focus group with about 50 youths from more than eight Institutes of Higher Learning, Youths discussed emerging trends in the maritime sector and shared their aspirations for Maritime Singapore.
 
The discussion was facilitated by MPA, and Singapore’s IMO Goodwill Maritime Ambassadors, Ms Akanksha Batura Pai, Head of Strategy and Growth of Sinoda Shipping, and Mr Jonathan Choo, Partner of Allen & Gledhill LLP.
 
Maritime Services Leaders Forum
 
Besides the Maritime Manpower Forum, MPA held the second edition of the Maritime Services Leaders Forum (MSLF) on Day 4 of Singapore Maritime Week 2023. Leading industry experts across various sectors, including finance, insurance, and legal services, came together to discuss the impact of key trends such as decarbonisation, digitalisation, and green finance on maritime services.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Xinde Marine News.