What Lies Ahead of You after Joining Maritime School in the Philippines

 Philippine maritime schools have long been producing globally competitive seamen.  As a result, the country is tagged to be the manning capital in the world. This is also the reason why many Filipinos are joining maritime schools Philippines to become a seaman. Yet the title also comes with a great price as Filipino seamen undergo all-out trainings with maritime schools. They have to get used to being far from their family and friends, too—loneliness is something they need to endure for long periods at a time.

Knowing that life at sea is no piece of cake and requires great stamina and willpower, what do Filipino seamen get in return? What is there in the sea that you could attain after you finish training in a maritime school in the Philippines? Well, as vast as the sea, life on it opens a lot of opportunities.

First, it’s an experience you could not compare with others. Sea is like a great training field where everything you’d learned in maritime schools are applied. Since working at sea is far different from the comfort of working ashore, it offers a lot of unique experience and danger. It allows you to push yourself more. You become more flexible with decisions and more patient with others. Subsequently, the Philippines, as an archipelagic country, has molded Filipinos to gain some edge on adapting to water. Financially, working at sea pays off really well—it offers good salary that could help you provide for your family’s needs and plan for the future.

In addition, the most rewarding thing you could give yourself is at the reach of your hands—traveling. You are able to go to places you have never been before. Traveling also enhances your knowledge about the culture and the people of the places you visit. When the ship is loading and unloading on foreign ports, you could take the chance to relax and get to know a little more of the world, one foreign port at a time. This would also be a perfect time for you to recharge with happy thoughts or different experiences. You could also meet new people and gain more friends.

Also, titles and positions attained in seamanship are internationally recognized. This allows you to work with the thousands of other shipping companies around the world. It widens your choice of companies and increases opportunities to explore your skills. And whenever you get tired of working onboard, there are other industries ashore that specifically need your seagoing experience. With this, you could enjoy living with your family while at the same time providing everything they need.

Whenever fear of being away and lonely overtakes your will, try to remember the very reason why you decided to join a maritime school and get off the Philippine shores. As it requires physical and emotional stability, make sure that you are fueled by your dream and keep on thinking about them as you go on with your trainings.

History’s Fruit to Future of Maritime

Long before the maritime schools brought passionate and dedicated seafarers and Philippine Navy troops in the Philippines, a man started it through a discovery. For almost seven decades ago, Admiral Tomas Cloma discovered a group of islands, islets, reefs, and shoals; he then named it Freedomland. It is located within the 200 mile limit of the sovereignty of the Philippines in accordance to United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea.

Admiral Tomas Cloma also then established a maritime school, giving him the title “Father of Maritime Education in the Philippines.” From then on, it opened the gates of better seafaring opportunities in the country. Over a significant period in the Philippine history, maritime schools had undergone improvement, making Filipino seafarers in demand all over the world.

Aside from the needed requirements and set of trainings aspiring Filipino seafarers undergo, they also possess several traits that keep them apart from others.

Seafarer’s responsibilities are no piece of a cake. It requires great will and stamina. It is indeed a requirement that the seafarer has a healthy mind and body, but he should also be powered with dedication and discipline. This is one of the characteristics Filipino seafarers possess which also make them stand out from the others. Filipino seafarers are also conscious with their conduct at work.

In addition, life at sea is different from the much easier way of living on land. Commodities and resources are limited, that is why it is very important for the seafarers to be flexible enough to perform tasks included or not in their job description. Filipino seafarers’ flexibility could also be seen on how they treat others, especially those who are from a different nation. They were also known for being patient with every task given to them.

And Philippines being an archipelago, bodies of water play an important role in the lives of the Filipinos. With this, Filipino seafarers were able to easily adapt with their lives on board, especially, those who live near bodies of water have already a natural sense of being a mariner. But aside from the natural characteristics of Filipinos being hardworking and respectful, Filipino seafarers have a good command over English language. Being fluent in English, Filipino seafarers have a great advantage. With this, Filipino seafarers could easily communicate with other people—including their superiors and fellow seafarers on board.

Generally, it isn’t only the maritime training which is important but each simple characteristic Filipino seafarer take with him as he go on board. Though maritime schools can’t fully impart each characteristics in the lives of each Filipino aspiring to be an able seaman, the trainings they conduct help each trainee to develop their well-being as individuals and as well as the advance technical knowledge they needed on board. It all started simply with a man who learnt how to make his dream come true and impart something essential to mankind. Moreover, with the continuous improvement – despite of the problems encountered by maritime schools in the Philippines – our country was able to give birth to globally-competitive mariners.