Shipping lines struggle to recruit qualified seafarers amid lower interview success
There is a low interview success rate at shipping companies seeking qualified seafarers, said Captain Soe Min Aung, president of the Myanmar Seafarers Federation (MSF).
“If people choose to become a seafarer, there are regulations regarding the training they need to attend, and it will cost them time and money. What I am hearing now is that when companies interviewed qualified candidates, only 15 or 20 out of 100 succeeded. The rest failed. I heard and saw in reality,” he said.
Despite completing courses and certificates, a candidate who doesn’t meet their expected qualifications during the interview is not hired by employers. In addition to relevant certificates, young people need to learn English as the main language in the maritime world.
“Since English is the main language in the maritime world, even if you are not a professional, you must be able to understand what others are saying and vice versa. You must be able to read and interpret what others have written. You must write in a way that others can understand. Therefore, I would like to encourage candidates to study English for literacy to be able to understand and speak it,” he said. — MT/ZN/ED