PNSC considers greater employment opportunities to PMA cadets

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC), with the collaboration of the Pakistan Marine Academy (PMA), is considering providing more employment opportunities to the PMA cadets.

In this connection a high level joint meeting of both the organizations was held with the senior officials in attendance. Arif Elahi, Chairman, PNSC, and Commodore Syed Akber Naqi, Commandant, PMA, headed their respective delegations. 

The meeting constituted a three-member committee headed by Brig Rashid Siddiqui and comprising of Zaheer Baber and the Commandant, Marine Academy, as its members. 

The committee has been assigned to the task of developing a new recruitment system for the PMA cadets, with the cooperation of DG Ports and Shipping. 

The meeting decided that a conference of private marine training institutes and the heads of Merchant Navy organizations will soon be convened. 

It was also suggested that the private shipping companies be persuaded to provide employment to the PMA cadets, the number of cadets who sign on and sign off on the PNSC ships be raised from 18 to 30. These cadets may also be provided employment at harbor crafts and harbor rovers. 

It was  decided that during training these cadets will be paid scholarship (stipend) sponsored by the PNSC. The committee considered awarding scholarship of Rs one lac per head to the five position holder cadets of the PMA. The PNSC has offered financial assistance for upgrading physics and chemistry labs of the PMA.

It was also decided that only those institutions having ample experience of shipping would be allowed to impart training so that the practice of awarding certificate without any training is to discourage and brought to end. A committee comprising of the PNSC shipping experts would redesign the syllabus. 

The PNSC Chairman emphasized that the regulatory authority be reactivated particularly in the matters concerning the PMA. He also stated that he will get this matter investigated as to why the PMA cadets were not getting employment on foreign vessels. 

The participants of the meeting included PNSC’s Director Administration, Brig Rashid Siddiqui, Director, Ship Management, Zaheer Baber Qureshi, PNSC’ Manager Training, Commodore, Muhammad Aslam Rana and Hafiz Amin Nizami, the President gold medalist of the PMA.