$1.2m scheme to tackle lack of marine engineers

04 May 2016

The Straits Times, 4 May 2016 - In a bid to tackle the acute shortage of marine engineers, the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union (SMOU) has launched the $1.2 million Tripartite Engineering Training Award (Teta) programme. Teta is a joint initiative by SMOU, Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), and the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i). Conducted by SMOU's training arm Wavelink Maritime Institute, Teta will subsidise cadets' training and secure placements with shipping companies even before they begin. Cadets will have to pay only 10 per cent of the training course fees, with 80 per cent subsidised by e2i and another 10 per cent by SMOU. Cadets will also receive training allowances of between $1,200 and $1,400 during the three-year programme, which will include a 15-month stint sailing with a commercial ship. A Teta graduate can expect to earn a starting pay of $4,033 (US$3,000) a month and look forward to a monthly salary of $9,411 (US$7,000) as a chief engineer. SP’s Diploma in Mechanical Engineering graduate, Muhammad Noor Azhar, was featured as one of the Teta cadets. Similar story was reported in Berita Harian and Channel News Asia.