Rector of the Certified Institute of Shipping (CIS), Prof. Alex Okwuashi, on Wednesday asked the federal government to establish maritime institutions across the country to address the manpower gap in the industry.
Okuwashi said this in an interview with newsmen in Lagos recently.
“I urge the Federal Government to accredit some maritime institutions so that they can train people at a higher level to meet the manpower needs of the industry.
“As a matter of fact, I can say that there is a shortfall of manpower if it is measured by the industry requirement for the next five years.
“We may have manpower adequately trained in the management area but not in the area of technology and other engineering areas,” Okwuashi said.
He said the new focus of the maritime industry to boost the nation’s economy required every necessary step to be taken to meet international standards.
According to him, to attain such height in the nation’s maritime sector, there is need to have institutions training students up to master’s degree level.
“At present, even the Maritime Academy (MAN), Oron, does not train students to attain international standards in manpower development.
“The training required should, however, be up to Master’s degree for Naval Architects, Engineers and other technical areas,” he said.
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