Africa-Press – Cape verde. The Minister of the Sea said on Friday that the government will take the status of seafarers to Parliament in the short term to regulate professional stability and the exercise of the profession, in terms of salary, social security and retirement.
Jorge Santos gave this guarantee after visiting the Maritime Simulation Center at the Institute of Marine Engineering and Sciences (ISECMAR), of the Technical University of the Atlantic (UTA) which, through the School of the Sea, currently offers courses, including merchant marine and boatswain’s mate.
“This is a long-standing and fair demand that must be taken into account. Therefore, this reform also includes the situation of seafarers, because we are all aware that the performance of this function cannot be compared to that of a citizen who works on land. Therefore, the demands are many, the level of risk is higher and, of course, this environment must be reflected in the status and retirement time of seafarers”, he said.
Regarding the courses that are currently taking place, the governor was pleased to see the results of the reforms to improve their content and quality.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to see that these courses will feed the maritime port sector, the fishing sector, which needs so much labor, because the labor force is running out in Cape Verde. These graduates from the Escola do Mar (EMar) are national workers, but international,” he said.
According to the minister, in 2024 the Escola do Mar trained a total of 700 people and for this year of 2025 the goal is to train 900 young people.
“We increasingly need more personnel and professionals in the maritime sector and today we took the day to visit, talk to the trainees, talk to the Maritime School and once again demonstrate the need we have to have, in the short term, a maritime school with all the skills in terms of training”, considered the minister.
According to the president of Escola do Mar, Liliane Pimenta, at this time the school underwent a reformulation of all study plans because there was a need, which began with EMar’s ISO certification last year.
And, he added, for definitive accreditation through the Maritime Port Institute (IMP) there was a need to reformulate the merchant navy, fishing, recreational nautical courses and also all the Basic Safety Training – STCW modules.
“This reformulation foresees the reduction of courses that were quite extensive, it was a demand from the seafarers themselves because they were required to return to land to have enough time to complete these trainings. The courses were remodeled and more modules of the STCW course were added, so as to allow them to work on national and international vessels”, he clarified.
According to Liliane Pimenta, EMar is currently offering courses for 270 people, including courses for merchant marine sailors and drivers, sailors and fishermen, fishing skippers, and boatswain in rented spaces because it does not have its own facilities.
In addition to ISECMAR, Jorge Santos also visited the construction site of the Firefighting Center, to train professionals in the maritime sector, in the Morro Branco region, which is scheduled for completion in April. He was with the graduates of the driver, metalwork, equipment assembly and maintenance courses who receive training at the Technical School.
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