The flag-off ceremony for the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), TotalEnergies, and PIDWAL Nigerian Content Human Capital Development (NC-HCD) project for provision of drillship for the multibillion-dollar Egina Project took place in Port Harcourt on Tuesday with 34 maritime cadets set for 12 months of training in seafaring.
The training, to be provided by Stoilic Group, a leading indigenous maritime, energy, oil and gas solutions provider, covers sea time and certificate of competency (COC). Sea time is for graduates needing practical onboard exposure before advancing their maritime career. It involves pre-embarkation training and 12-month placement on board ocean-going vessels.
Certificate of Competency is for cadets with sea-time experience, now qualifying as Officers of the Watch. It involves basic and advanced courses, and examinations which are written and oral.
In opening remarks at the event, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, represented by the General Manager, HCD of the Board, Ms. Alexis Emelle, stated that the training is “a journey into a highly specialized field, one that demands precision, discipline and accountability,” among other things.
He pointed out that the programme is a deliberate investment in the cadets, and that for the next 12 months, they would gain international sea-time experience and also have their COC training. He expressed appreciation to TotalEnergies for its commitment to developing Nigerian talent.
To the cadets, his advice was that they should “extract value from every moment in the field” and that they should let the training stress them and refine them for industry service.
For his part, the Deputy General Manager, Nigerian Content, in TotalEnergies, Dr. Cyprian Ojum, charged partners, trainers and cadets to embrace the programme “with the spirit of collaboration, openness and resilience.” He said the success of the programme would depend on their collective effort, active participation, and steadfast commitment to achieving its objectives.
He told the trainees that “training to acquire knowledge, skills and ideas won’t always be easy” and that there would be long days and moments to feel stressed. “Growth happens outside the comfort zone,” he added.
In the training overview, a representative of Stoilic Group said the training has two pathways – sea time and COC – which are designed to make cadets experience “the full rhythm of shipboard life” and also to qualify cadets as “Officers of the Watch,” opening the path to senior ranks at sea.
He noted that everything the training organisation does is driven by a simple goal – “helping Nigerian seafarers compete successfully on the global stage.” The company’s cadets, he disclosed, “have maintained 100 per cent pass rates in their certificate of competency examinations” and that the company has successfully placed cadets onboard ocean-going vessels all over the world.
In closing remarks, Mr. Daniel Dents of TotalEnergies, thanked NCDMB, PIDWAL and Stoilic for their valuable partnership, which has created opportunities for Nigerian youths to fulfil their dreams.
He assured the trainees that staff of TotalEnergies would always go around to see how they are faring, and that at the end of the programme the company would submit its report to NCDMB, the industry regulator.
