Training essential

Training acts not only as a career enhancer, but also plays an essential role in the modernisation of the shipping industry as a whole, said Esben Poulsson, chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping, as he delivered the keynote speech at this year’s CrewConnect Global Conference in Manila. “The future sustainability of the industry requires an evolutionary response to the training and retention of seafarers,” he stressed. “We need to do more than simply respond to changing needs, we must learn to anticipate them and thereby control the development of the industry.”