A capacity building outfit, Vow Ventures Ltd has said that it is embarking on a drive of exposing secondary school students from tender age to the carrier opportunities in the maritime industry.
The maiden edition of the Maritime Quiz competition organised in Lagos recently, saw 10 secondary schools participated in the quiz competition. Methodist Girls High School, Lagos won the first prize.
Mrs Violet Williams, organiser of the competition, also the Principal Partner, Vow Ventures Ltd., said that other six participants from three schools would be going to some maritime academies in Africa including Ghana.
Williams said that the firm was a career development partner in the transportation, maritime, trade and tourism sectors, which contribute 75 per cent of the employment of labour.
According to her, to explore the maritime and tourism sectors, the outfit decided to guide young minds to the "Career of the future”.
"Intermediate approach is to take employment to the next level by providing requisite training and exposure to enable them (youths) deliver competitively.
"We want to demystify the aspect of no-go- area in the maritime sector and we have discovered that some school owners do not know anything about shipping.
"Shipping is a global and international business, whereby we catch them young. These children will be able to be independent.
"We have exposed the students to the shipping environment before engaging in the quiz to see whether they understand and have interest in shipping career," Williams said.
She said that the quiz would be holding in three geo-political zones of the country where there was proximity to the sea.
Williams explained that the quiz which took place in Lagos would be extended to secondary school students in South-East and South-South before 2020.
She, said that the quiz was self-sponsored, saying that the Nigerian Shippers' Council (NSC) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) sponsored part of the enlightenment in June 2017.
Also speaking, Retired Navy Capt. Abel Abuchi, said that career differed as well as profession, saying this was why he wanted the students to have diverse professions.
"We are trying to encourage the students not just to be lawyers, bankers but they can also be seafarers.
"They can be captains of sea-going vessels or a Navy: all what they need to do after having their "A" level is to go to Maritime institutions such as Maritime Academy Oron, Certified Institute of Shipping and so on," Abuchi said.
He said that there was need for the students to build career and supporting tapping all the potential in the maritime industry, saying that over 90 per cent of cargo was carried by sea.
The Director-General, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping, Mrs Obiageli Obi, advised students who would like to build maritime career to study hard and explore the maritime industry, regardless of their profession.
Obi urged the students to be disciplined and accountable due to the fact that shipping business was capital intensive.
She said that the students must show interest before joining the shipping profession, saying that the profession also accommodated other disciplines with which they could work in government agencies in the industry.
Also at the event, the President, Women's International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA), Mrs Mary Hamman, advised the students to choose relevant courses to enable them build career in shipping.
Hamman said that if the students study very hard and come produce good certificates, they would support the Federal Government in achieving all the potential in the industry which she said would have multiplier effects on government revenue.
She said that the school with the first position would be exposed to all maritime environment in and outside the country.
The Women Governor, Association of Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Mrs Bola Muse, commended the organisers of the programme for enlightening the students at tender ages.
"There is an adage which says catch-them-young and the earlier the better for them to know that maritime industry accommodates both sex but all what they need to do is to work hard," Muse said.
Discussion about this post