Job openings abound in maritime sector but ...
Ghana is losing out on thousands of job opportunities in the maritime industry because of the inadequate capacity of the Regional Maritime University to admit more students to pursue courses.
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“The jobs are coming up and there are not many Ghanaians to take up the jobs because we are training fewer people than we should. We should be able to train more.
We should be training thousands, not hundreds,” the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Elvis Nyarko, said when the Minister of Environment Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng paid a working visit to the university.
He said a critical need for the university, since Ghana no longer had its own shipping line, was a vessel for training purposes.
Need vessel
“We would need a vessel if we want to increase the number of seafarers that would take advantage of the growing maritime industry and the jobs that are coming up in the maritime sector which Ghanaians must take advantage. We need a training vessel because if you go through the Regional Maritime University for the sea going course without going to sea, you can’t deliver as a professional. You need at least 12 months sea training and then you can come back to begin your professional training,” he stated.
He added that the opportunities for seafarers had increased for Ghanaians and Africa in general because “Europeans no longer go to sea and Asians who took over are also losing interest.”
He stated that although the university currently had a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bernhard Schulte Ship Management, an integrated maritime services company which offered internship for RMU students, the spaces were limited because of the International Maritime Organisation regulation, which limits the number of students on container vessels to maximum 10.
Encroachment
Prof. Nyarko, who took the minister round the campus to its various training facilities, said at least half of the university’s lands which stretched as far as the Junction Mall in Nungua had been taken over by encroachers, including estate developers and individuals.
He said failure of the university to secure its lands by acquiring title to it gave its current entitled owners Tema Development Corporation to sell portions of it.
Government indebtedness
Prof. Nyarko stated that government currently owed the university GH¢13.5 million which is its member-state contribution towards the running of the university for the last five years.
“It has affected us because that is what we use for infrastructure. We use that portion of the contribution to expand infrastructure, expand offices for staff and provide new facilities for teaching. We have not been able to do much of that because of the constraint,” he added.
Call to duty
Professor Frimpong-Boateng expressed reservation about the encroachment on the lands of public institutions and added that it was time the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies and chiefs left the lands alone.
“Our universities need lands to develop our nation. Let not the vice-chancellors spend their time trying to protect their lands instead of concentrating on what would develop students who would lead the nation’s progress,” he added.
He said the RMU was dear President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s heart because he had the intention to push the study of science, technology ,engineering and mathematics (STEM) as the pivots of growth.
“This is a place where even junior high school graduates can come and study proper welding which can open doors to jobs on commercial vessels,” he said.
Prof. Boateng said a report on the activities of the university and the opportunities available for the government’s STEM objective would be submitted to the President for the appropriate action.
He observed that with the expansion of Tema and Takoradi ports, Ghana would need a functional dry-dock.
Among the facilities the minister toured were the Ship Simulation Room, Ship Engine Room Simulation Centre, Well Control Simulator (for oil and gas training) and Sea Survival and Swimming Unit.
RMU
The overall objective for the establishment of RMU was to promote regional co-operation in the maritime industry with a focus on training to ensure the sustained growth and development of the industry. It was established in 1958 as Nautical College and became a university in 2007. — GB
