TWENTY-ONE Dualtech graduates employed as seafarers at Döhle Seafront Crewing (Manila) recently awarded scholarships to two high school graduates to join Dualtech Training Center Foundation Inc. with a career path at sea.
The initiative, coordinated and supported by the manning agency, is part of an ongoing effort to ensure manpower sustainability among Filipinos in the maritime profession.
“The work of marine HRs is very complex. Aside from deploying seafarers, we first have to make sure there are jobs at sea available from reputable shipowners to protect the best interests of Filipino seafarers. There is also an impending need to ensure that a new batch of maritime professionals will emerge from the next generation,” said Iris Baguilat, president of Döhle Seafront.
The Dualtech scholarship project forges the pathway for jobs at sea for electromechanics graduates of the Dualtech Training Center Foundation Inc. PHOTO by ABRIEL LOZADA
Baguilat and Dualtech’s previous president Arnold Morfer forged the pathway for jobs at sea for electromechanics graduates of the foundation in 2015. Since then, Döhle Seafront has successfully employed around 50 Dualtech graduates who started as entry-level “engine boys” with an engine-fitter track on international sea-going vessels.
Dualtech Center is a pioneer of the Dual Training System (DTS) in the country, established in 1982 and adopting the German model, where the school and industry train students through real-life work experience. The center trains over a thousand scholars from poor sectors of society each year and partners with over a hundred companies to prepare them for eventual employment.
“Based on our intake, graduates of Dualtech have performed well and shown good performance and attitude toward work despite not having prior shipboard background at the beginning,” said Marlon Panisan, Döhle Seafront head of PD Manning.
This endeavor sustains the maritime profession and strengthens the institution’s foundation, Dualtech President Jerry Webb Muhi said.
“Once, I was told that the life of an educational institution depends on its alumni, and each of us has a role in sustaining our alma mater, Dualtech. I am grateful that our graduates at Döhle Seafront and the company have paved another path for our students and fellow alumni to consider. Being a seaman is a noble profession and is very much aligned with our electromechanics program,” Muhi said.
“More than the financial support [our graduates] have provided, [they] have given them role models to aspire to and mentors they can rely on for professional consultations,” Muhi added.
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