Pelita Maslaut to increase intake

09:20 MARITIME NEWS 3 Comments

HAJi MASNI (right) and Albert Ling exchange the MOU documents as Marzuki (centre) other officials look on.

Roger Duyong

SIBU: Pelita Maslaut Training Centre, one of two maritime training centres in Sarawak, hopes to increase its student’s intake to 90 annually soon. It is also the only Bumiputera training centre which was established in 2001.
Pelita Maslaut Training Centre and Jaya Coastal Transport Sdn Bhd signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) yesterday to cement a formal relationship between the two.
Albert Ling, chairman of Jaya Coastal signed on behalf of his company, while Pelita Maslaut was represented by its managing director, Hj. Masni b. Amit.
“The purpose of the MOU is to cement the working relationship between the two companies which has been going on for the past two years,” Masni said, telling journalists at the function.
So far, he said at least about seventy former students from the Maslaut had undergone practical training at Jaya Coastal and subsequently hired to work for the company, which is a shipping company. “We will continue to work together to help our young and aspiring people to achieve their dream career in the shipping line as seafarers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Albert Ling said he was happy with the quality of students produced from the Centre saying that his company’s need was duly met with the students being hired by it.
“We are happy to note that the supply of students that we have received from Pelita Maslaut have been able to meet our need.
“It is not easy to get trained people in this line, but the students are equipped with enough basic knowledge to take on the practical training they will undergo onboard our ships. Many of them are hired by us,” he told journalists.
“In fact, after having worked with Pelita Maslaut, we have avoided the headache of acquiring seafarers,” Albert quipped.
Asked on the imbalance of seafarers employed in the industry, Albert said his company would work toward more employing Malaysians than foreigners.
It said that the current ration is that 70% of the seafarers are foreigners while the 30% are Malaysians.
“We are aware of the situation and as such we are working towards fulfilling the request from the government to have a balanced ratio of workers or seafarers in our shipping companies.
“We are looking at achieving an 80% - 20% ratio in our company. The eighty percent will consist of Malaysian seafarers, while the remaining number will be foreign experts,” he said, without giving any date line for achieving it.
“That’s why I would like to urge our young local people to get into this line of work. This career has become very sophisticated, the salary and benefits are good and the future is excellent.
“But, when there’re no locals, we have to hire foreigners to meet our need,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Bernama reported that Pelita Maslaut would be signing more memorandums of understanding (MoU) for the supply of trained seafarers with a few more companies in the state soon. With the MoU, Pelita Maslaut will supply more trained seafarers to the company who have undertaken to employ them.
Pelita Maslaut which accepts students from Sabah and the other states in the Peninsular, offers courses in basic safety training, advance fire fighting, shipboard management and medical first aid.
It also offer courses in survival craft, radar observation, radar operator, electronic navigational aids, tanker familiarisation and others.

Sumber :- http://www.easterntimes.com.my/