`Filipino seafarers must prepare for jobs created by offshore wind industry’

August 28 ------ MIGRANT Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said Filipino seafarers must start preparing now for the jobs that will emerge from the country’s offshore wind industry, stressing the need for new skills as the global maritime sector shifts toward cleaner energy.

Speaking at The Manila Times forum titled “Winds of Change: Building the Maritime Supply Chain for Philippine Offshore Wind,” the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) secretary said that the energy transition was already changing the vessels, technologies and skills required in maritime operations.

“For us, the important issue is not only the number of turbines that may be installed; it is also the people who will build, install, operate, maintain and support them,” Cacdac said. He said that the Philippines should not wait for offshore wind jobs to emerge before preparing its workers. “We should not wait for the jobs to change before we change our skills. We should prepare our people ahead of the transition,” Cacdac said.

Filipino seafarers, he said, would need to become familiar with new technologies, propulsion systems, safety requirements and new types of offshore operations. “We have spent decades developing Filipino seafarers who are trusted and employed across the world,” Cacdac said. “As the maritime industry changes, we should not wait for the jobs to change before we change our skills.”

He pointed to the growing number of Filipino seafarers moving into specialized offshore roles as a sign of the workforce’s potential. He cited Solstad Offshore Philippines, a licensed Philippine manning agency supporting Solstad’s global offshore operations, where Filipino seafarers have worked as chief engineers, chief officers, dynamic positioning operators, and other offshore technical and engineering personnel.

He also cited Magsaysay Maritime Corp.’s partnership with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP) to establish a dynamic positioning training center in Bataan, specifically in response to the growing demand for dynamic positioning operators and other skilled personnel for offshore wind and offshore development. “These are very important signals for us,” Cacdac said. “They tell us that the transition is not something that will happen 20 years from now, but the skills that are being demanded today should be transitioning now as we speak.”

Cacdac said the need to prepare Filipino seafarers would extend beyond offshore wind as new technologies and alternative energy sources begin to affect shipping. He cited electrification, hydrogen, ammonia and other alternative fuels, while noting that nuclear propulsion could eventually affect commercial shipping despite continuing concerns over safety, regulation, infrastructure costs and international acceptance.

For the DMW, Cacdac said that the challenge was not simply to facilitate the deployment of Filipino workers but to ensure that they remained relevant, competitive and protected as the maritime sector changed. “Our task is not simply to facilitate deployment but to make sure that the Filipino worker remains relevant, competitive and protected as the global maritime sector evolves,” he said.

He called for stronger cooperation among governments, shipowners, manning agencies, training institutions and industry representatives to anticipate changes in maritime employment and develop the skills that workers would need.

Cacdac cited the Global Wind Energy Council’s Philippine Offshore Wind Supply Chain Study, which identified skilled labor as one of the Philippines’ key opportunities and recognized the potential of Filipino seafarers while pointing to the need for additional training and offshore-specific competencies. “Offshore wind can now take that experience to the next level,” he said.

The Philippines, he added, should not only become a market for offshore wind technologies but also a source of skilled maritime workers who can support the industry’s growth. “When the global maritime industry moves to the next generation of energy and technology, Filipino seafarers should be there not merely as workers looking for jobs but as skilled professionals helping drive that transition,” he said.

To help make that happen, Cacdac said that the DMW was working to identify Filipino workers whose skills could be matched with emerging opportunities through its Committee on Active Labor Market Intervention. The committee profiles overseas Filipino workers and returning workers and matches their skills with potential employment opportunities in the Philippines and abroad. Cacdac said about 4,000 workers returning from the Middle East had been matched with potential jobs based on their profiles, although these positions were not specifically in offshore wind.

Cacdac said the DMW could work with the Department of Energy and other agencies to align available human resources with the skills needed by the emerging offshore wind sector. “The good news is the technology is already there,” he said. “This is not rocketing science anymore.” “What it takes is the political will on the side of government and, of course, social dialogue and bilateral endeavors with shipowners as well as governments, foreign governments,” according to the migrant chief.

Cacdac assured industry stakeholders of the DMW’s cooperation as the Philippines prepares its maritime workforce for the offshore wind industry.

Source: manilatimes.net