Cadet recruitment and training

Chapter 4 discusses issues and challenges related to cadet recruitment and training. As shipping is an international industry, cadet training is regulated at the global level and the STCW Convention sets up the minimum standards for it. Despite the uniformity, how the recruitment and training processes are arranged between the trainee, maritime training institute, and company varies across countries. Therefore, this chapter continues to examine the four major labour supplier countries (the Philippines, China, India, and the UK) in this context. Drawing on government statistics and documents, the chapter depicts the numbers and trends of cadet recruitment, discusses cadet training policies, and examines STCW implementation in these countries. The examination of these cases reveals some issues and challenges in relation to recruitment and training. This examination serves to shed new light on the shortage of seafarer officers reported by the BIMCO/CIS manpower studies.