Seafarers Upgrading Program
Ina Dottery
This is a FREE financial assistance training that amounts to PHP 7,500 cash grant. Take note that a seaman or seawoman can avail this SUP every three (3) recorded membership contributions. So if you work in the maritime industry, you may want to avail this SUP scholarship.
Under SUP, a seafarer-applicant/grantee can select a MARINA or TESDA-accredited training/course from a list of training/courses provided under the program and enroll in training providers recognized by OWWA. OWWA acknowledges all MARINA-accredited training centers as training providers. A training allowance/assistance of P7,500 is given as part of the program.
Check out this video of one of our kababayans who went to Intramuros to go to OWWA and avail the OWWA training subsidy. In the video, the Filipina also shared details about the SUP program for seafarers. So if you want to avail the free financial assistance, do take advantage of this SUP project by OWWA!
The program is grounded on the commitment of the administration to support the welfare and development of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), including sea-based OFWs. By providing financial assistance for training courses, the SUP ensures that Filipino sea-based workers can access essential education without the burden of excessive costs.
In the first semester of 2022, around 240 sea-based OFWs in Davao Region took advantage of the Seafarers Upgrading Program (SUP) offered by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. The aims to provide job-related training to enhance the knowledge and skills of Filipino sea-based workers in line with technological advancements and global maritime standards. With financial assistance of up to Php7,500.00, seafarers can choose from a variety of courses to upgrade their expertise.
Discover the details of the OWWA Seafarers Upgrading Program, which offers a cash grant of PHP 7,500. This provides free training financial assistance to sea-based OFWs, allowing them to upgrade their skills and knowledge. Learn about the available courses, qualifications, requirements, and how to apply for this program in this informative video.
SUP is a financial-assistance program under OWWA which aims to provide free trainings for the knowledge, skills, and expertise development of the Filipino seafarers aligned with the international maritime standards.
Under SUP, the seafarer-applicant/grantee may choose the MARINA or TESDA-accredited training/course he/she wishes to take from the list of the trainings/courses offered under the program and to enroll to the training providers recognized by OWWA. All training centers accredited by MARINA are recognized training providers by OWWA. The program provides a training allowance/assistance of P7,500.
This means that, upon the processing of our contract at POEA, a OWWA membership contribution has already been paid. From the start of our contract thereon, we are already valid OWWA members for two (2) years after which the membership has to be renewed.
Under this short-term training program, the seafarer-grantee may choose any TESDA- or MARINA-accredited training or course based on the provided list. They can enroll in their preferred training center that is recognized by OWWA. For the record, OWWA only recognizes training centers that are accredited by TESDA and MARINA.
The main goal of OWWA is for seafarer members to benefit from job-related training programs and courses in the maritime sector based on the standards of the Maritime Training Council. The minimum financial assistance given to grantees starts at Php 1,200 depending on the course they are enrolled in. For trainees who will undergo training at the National Maritime Polytechnic, financial aid includes transportation and meal allowances.
Step 4: You will receive a Notice of Award, and then you need to enroll in your chosen training center and complete the course in 45 days in order to keep your application valid for free educational training.
Residents outside NCR will wait for up to seven working days before their applications are processed upon submitting their requirements. Each application is subject for verification by other OWWA Regional Welfare Offices in the Philippines.
No, this is a free training program for OWWA members who are sea-based OFWs or seafarers. You can get an amount up to Php 7,500 and enroll in your preferred MARINA-accredited training center and course program.
Remember to complete all the requirements mentioned on the list before visiting the nearest OWWA office in your area. Also, you may check the qualifications to see if you meet them and can apply for the SUP scholarship. For residents of Metro Manila, SUP application processing may take two working days after submitting the requirements. Check with your OWWA Regional Welfare Office branch to see how long it will exactly take for your application to be processed.
Over the last few years, I have been getting phone calls from Human Resource "professionals", looking to fill positions requiring Transport Canada Marine Engineering First Class Certificate of Competency (COC). They call from offices across Canada, drawn to the high value of the commission, should they be able to fill the position, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-25 thousand dollars. They are of course unknowledgeable of the marine industry in general, but in particular the Marine Engineering field. Due to my higher than average online profile, I end up fielding these calls with some regularity, which, I say I only have a Third Class certificate and dash their hopes of a quick buck.
The conversation invariably turns to a bit of learning session, where I share my experience about the Marine Engineering profession. One of the first question they usually come up with, is "why is it so hard to find a Marine Engineer in Canada"? I of course want to say that the constant moving target that is the certification process in Canada is outdated, duplicitous, irrelevant, and down right difficult for no real or apparent reason.
Furthermore, the lack of support and investment in the process over many, many years, by ship owners, and the obvious social costs that one must bear to work in the industry, are further impediments to the process. And of course the payoffs, such as compensation, quality of work environment and social benefits, in terms of the individual investment, is rather ridiculous compared to other professions.
In general I attribute the shortage, to a total, long term, lack of vision by those in the industry, and even less action. But of course, the answer to this Human Resource person on the phone is: "because it is complicated".
Marine career, a tough love
I turned forty this year. When you are in your twenties, forty is like old people. Indeed it does feel like it; the burdens of responsibility are heavy, in particular with a family, your perspective changes dramatically as well. The running of my website (dieselduck.net, blog forum, etc) was always a mental exercise for the eventuality of upgrading my license, moving through the ranks. I have been laser focused on my career in the marine industry for so long, its hard to decipher where it ends in my daily life.
But these days, I am not all that impressed with the industry and its constant battering of its professionals. So as a cathartic exercise, I offer this post mortem of my recent attempt to move ahead in the industry without sacrificing all of my sanity. Perhaps those starting out may use it as a cautionary tale, for theyre own purposes, as we are sometimes blinded by the excitement when starting out, working in the commercial maritime world.
STCW95 the game changer
In the mid-nineties, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the world maritime regulating body, met to update the Standards of Training Watchkeeping and Certification of Seafarers convention. New changes introduced in 1995 were adopted by the IMO member states, Canada included, and came into full force in 1999. This IMO convention is more commonly known as STCW95.
STCW95 dramatically changed the way training and certification of seafarers was being done. The original convention affecting training and certification was introduced in 1978; and the most recent one, the Manila Amendments, as been accepted in 2010, coming into force in 2012. These conventions dictate how nations like Canada, make regulations concerning commercial shipping.
Since the mid nineties, most people entering the Marine Engineering profession do so by following the Marine Engineering Cadet / Apprenticeship program, to an accepted worldwide standard. This is a considerable shift from the previous way Marine Engineering professionals were trained in Canada.
Cadets now receive the bulk of their training at the beginning of their careers, before achieving their first COC - the 4th Class. Over the four years of the cadet program, they are in the classroom, learning the theoretical subjects, and onboard the ship, following a training program. In some countries, upon convocation, the Cadet is issued a diploma or similar degree such as a Bachelor of Science; however in Canada, no such recognition is generally attributed to this program.
Static standards in a dynamic industry
From the 1960s, until the mid nineties, a person could "walk off the street", get sea time onboard a ship, then challenge the Fourth Class certificate. That person would then progress through his career, with sea time, and learning the "basics theory". The theoretical component would usually be completed in piecemeal, typically done at one of the training institutions, sometimes, on their own. That "basic" knowledge would then be assessed by Transport Canada, when challenging the exams for the next certificate, i.e. 3rd Class, 2nd Class, 1st Class. This system is (was) known as "hawsepiping".
Canada, coming out of the Second World War, had a massive merchant fleet, and was therefore at the forefront of developing shipping standards early on, including manning regulations. With STCW95, the "rest of the world" caught up, and threw in some best practices of its own. It came in full force in the late nineties, resulting in very few aspiring Marine Engineers, if any, able to "work their way up" organically in Canada by experience and self schooling.
Despite the shift to "up front" basic training that is now the way Marine Engineers are trained, the Marine Engineering certification system in Canada, has remained largely unchanged since the sixties. The many regulations that have being developed by the IMO, in particular STCW95, and STCW10, are being shoehorned into Canadas already burdensome "old system" of certification and regulations.
Certificates of competency system
Every regulated ship on the world's ocean is required to sail with a certain amount of competent crew members. The Captain is a good example, commonly identified in popular culture. There are of course many skills needed on a ship, in particular the safe and efficient running of the ships machinery. The professionals responsible for this area, commonly known as the "engine room", are Marine Engineers. Every ship must carry a certain number of engineers, depending on various size limits - set by regulations and international agreements.
Marine Engineers are licensed personnel, Ships Officers, and their abilities are vetted worldwide by high level federal government agencies, such as Transport Canada. The result of the vetting is the issuance of a Certificate of Competency (COC), also known as a "Ticket" or "License". There are four levels of COCs in Canada, the 4th Class, 3rd Class, 2nd Class, and the highest being the 1st Class - each level, applicable to Steam and / or Motor Ship propulsion. Internationally, there are typically three accepted classes of certificates, Watchkeeper, Class Two, Class One.
Once a 4th Class COC is obtained (entry level), the upgrading of a COC is achieved by acquiring experience in the form of time spent at sea, and training certificates in various short courses, such as Engine Room simulator, Marine Emergency Duties (safety), first aid, etc, as well as meeting medical standards. The bulk of the upgrade consists of completing two sets of Transport Canada administered exams. They are separated into two categories, Part A, involving 5 theoretical subjects, and Part B, involving 3 subjects, with more practical aspects of shipboard knowledge.
What's a TC Marine Engineering exam
The Transport Canada exams are 3.5 hours long. The exams are nearly identical in scope for the 3rd Class, 2nd Class, and 1st Class COC, however, the complexity of the questions increases according to level attempted in theory.
The Part A subjects are: