SEYPEC renews pledge to uphold Seychellois seafarers’ career

The national petroleum company SEYPEC is commissioning a new batch of 12 Seychellois who will follow a comprehensive training course at the Colombo International Nautical and Engineering College (CINEC) in Sri Lanka. The trainees who will leave Seychelles on Saturday 08th July 2017 for Colombo have been recruited earlier in January this year under SEYPEC’s Training Scheme following a rigorous and competitive selection process from a pool of over 30 applicants. 

Following their selection during March and April 2017, the students had been following their five basic safety, Standards of Training, Certification for WatchKeeping for Seafarers (STCW 78 Convention as Amended) courses locally at the Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA). This certification ensured their eligibility to progress to the second phase of their training to undertake the proposed 4 months Pre-Sea Training at CINEC Sri Lanka. 

Prior to their departure the students received their STCW 78 Convention (as Amended) Certificate of Proficiency as well as their travel documents during a ceremony held at SEYPEC House on Thursday 06th July 2017, at 09.00 am.   

The trainees of this 4th cohort come from various backgrounds and fields of study and have shown a keen interest to pursue their chosen career as mariners at the Pre-Sea Course at CINEC. Over the next 3 and half month the student’s syllabus will cover both general knowledge relating to the shipping industry, engineering,  navigation and extensive workshop practical modules giving them a holistic understanding of all vessel handling skills and duties. This will also better equip them to select their area specialization from either upper or lower deck.  

At the ceremony on Thursday, Conrad Benoiton, the CEO of SEYPEC renewed the pledge of the national petroleum company to support seafarers’ career in Seychelles. He insisted on the particular commitment that the company has consented. “A company cannot survive without people and therefore this commitment of welcoming them within the SEYPEC family is all about quantifying the essence of human resourcing values of SEYPEC. This is not reflected on the balance sheet but it is so essential. Our people own the company, they take care of it. This is why we have this intake of new students to train them and make them become masters of their own destiny. This requires discipline, commitment, respect and ultimately a deep sense of gratitude to their parents, to their colleagues and to the Company. We want them to uphold our company’s mission at all times. This is not an abstract undertaking because it is a daily reality. We are proud at SEYPEC that young Seychellois have opted for such a career and we are convinced that this path will ensure long way to success and higher positions, on our fleet of tankers.”  Our engagement with German Tanker Shipping enables us to accommodate these numbers of which otherwise would have not been possible to achieve on SEYPEC’s fleet alone.

Medlynn Esparon, a 2016- SMA graduate who was awarded Best Student in Advanced Certificate in Navigation & Seamanship scheme delivered a vote of thanks on behalf of her colleagues. ‘This is an immense opportunity that SEYPEC is giving to young Seychellois and I urge my fellow new trainees to take full advantage of the courses in Sri Lanka in order to prepare for a fruitful career.’

After completion of the pre sea training, they will be placed on board deep sea going vessels as Ordinary Seaman to obtain sea time and experience to allow them to obtain their Watch-Keeping Certificate from Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration (SMSA) prior to being eligible for the Able Seafarer Deck Certificate and Able Sea Farer Engineering Certificate from SMSA after which they can progress for Officers Training in Nautical and Engineering respectively.

This project which was launched in 2014, is yet another initiative of SEYPEC to support seafaring as a career. The scheme aims to strengthen the employability of Seychellois by providing them an avenue to pick up vocational skills and at the same time allow them to join the fleet of SEYPEC tankers. As part of the company’s capacity building efforts and vision, it is expected that by 2020 having a fullyfledged crew pool of Seychellois will man all the tankers.

The next recruitment exercise for a further 12 motivated and ambitious Seychellois for seafaring prospects will be carried out in December 2017/January 2018.