As the other sectors are grappling with job issues, the shipping industry for quite some time is complaining about the shortage of qualified and skilled officers. According to officials, the industry is facing a shortage of around 1,500-2,000 officers in India.
??There is a serious lack of skill and knowledge about the shipping and freight process within this industry. The officers tend to get on to foreign vessels because of couple of reasons. One being the lure of the tax free salary,?? commented S Kulkarni , secretary general, INSA. ??There could be a gap of around 1,500 or more mariners by now,?? he added.
This manpower shortage is in spite of having adequate training facilities within the country. Maritime training was privatised almost ten years ago. At present, there are four government-owned and 13 private institutes.
The main problem is that the Indian officers prefer working on foreign ships rather than working on ships owned by Indian companies. The main reason being the tax disparity existing between foreign and Indian ships.
??There has always been a shortage of skilled professionals. And the shortage is increasing for the Indian shipping industry. It always had been a concern,?? commented S Hajara, CMD, Shipping Corporation of India.
As the Indian vessels face acute shortage, training for the new mariners has become mandatory. However, the industry does not think that there is a shortage of institutes.
??There?s not a shortage of institutes. The problem is there is a lack of training for the new recruits. Hence training has been made mandatory. Still due to several advantages Indian officers prefer foreign vessels over Indian companies. Moreover, the international companies also prefer Indian officers more,?? commented Kulkarni.
The manpower crunch is an issue for the Indian and the foreign companies, but due to the recent economic downturn there has been some improvement, at least for the Indian companies.
Though the shortage still exist, according to some industry experts the availability of officers has improved.
??The shortage is still an acute problem for the Indian shipping companies. However in the past few months due to global economic situation and also due to the job scenario, the availability of officers has improved. However, the problem is still the same for the category of senior officials,?? commented Kulkarni.