Distinguished Guests,
Award recipients and parents,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Good evening and a warm welcome.

I am pleased to join you today to witness 30 young promising individuals receiving the MPA Global Internship Award (MPA GIA in short). The MPA GIA programme was introduced by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore in 2013 to allow local undergraduates in their penultimate year to gain a deeper appreciation of the global nature of the maritime industry through hands-on learning in both the local and overseas offices of participating maritime companies.

The MPA GIA programme is also an example of MPA's manpower development efforts seeking to complement and support the national SkillsFuture initiative. The SkillsFuture Council, led by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, was set up last year to build an integrated system of education, training and career progression based on skills mastery.

As the lead agency for the Transport (Sea) sector under SkillsFuture, MPA will be collaborating with industry partners and education institutions to drive a sectoral manpower strategy to further deepen relevant skills and broaden career advancement pathways for maritime employees. Two taskforces were formed in 2014, one for Seafaring and another for Shore-based sectors. These two taskforces are chaired by MPA and aim to address and recommend new initiatives to strengthen maritime efforts at both the national and industry levels.

One key initiative under SkillsFuture is to provide students with an enhanced internship experience, which the MPA GIA seeks to deliver. This programme will allow students to bridge academic theories with actual work experiences through a structured training programme. Students can also look forward to an enriched experience through being exposed to different cultures when based overseas.

For polytechnic and ITE graduates, MPA is also working closely with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency or WDA to develop the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme for the maritime sector. This programme will be targeted at fresh polytechnic and ITE graduates of maritime-related courses and provides a work-study programme designed to give them a head-start in their maritime careers.

I am pleased to share that our 2014 recipients continue to bear testimony to the success of the MPA GIA in grooming young maritime talents. Some of them have joined the maritime industry upon their graduation by working in the shipping, offshore, shipbroking and port sectors. These recipients have shared that the MPA GIA has provided them with a meaningful internship experience but also deepened their knowledge and appreciation of the maritime industry.

Our emcee for today, Ms Serene Ong, is another successful example of an MPA GIA recipient. She was offered employment at The Shipowners' Mutual Protection And Indemnity Association (Luxembourg) (Singapore Branch) after her internship stint with them last year under the programme. Serene has shared with us that she enjoyed the overseas stint the most in the MPA GIA programme, which allowed her the opportunity to experience overseas work cultures.

This year once again, we are heartened by the encouraging response from both companies as well as students. This is the largest number of awards we have given out. The increased number of applications, recipients and participating companies indicate the value of the programme and commitment in developing manpower for Maritime Singapore. For the 2015 cycle, 30 students will be awarded internship placements with 21 maritime companies, covering different sectors including shipping, shipbroking, ship finance, marine insurance, offshore and maritime law.

These 30 students were selected, after several rounds of interviews, from a pool of more than 170 applicants. The recipients come from a variety of academic background, such as maritime studies, business, accountancy, economics and law, highlighting the diversity of maritime careers available. Their internships will also include overseas stints in Australasia, the Middle East, South Africa, Europe and America.

Sitting amongst the recipients tonight is Mr Umar Abdullah, who is the first law student to receive the MPA GIA. Umar is pursuing a Bachelor of Law at the Singapore Management University and will be undergoing a maritime law internship with BP Singapore Pte Ltd this summer. He had earlier shared with us on his expectations for his upcoming internship as a law student, that he hopes to be able to experience first-hand the various issues and challenges that maritime lawyers face, and to achieve a better understand of the maritime industry beyond the legal issues. Today, there are over 30 local and foreign law firms with maritime practice in the Singapore Maritime Cluster, with many more members of the legal fraternity serving as in-house counsel with shipping companies or claims specialists with marine insurance companies and P&I Clubs.

In addition to recognising these 30 recipients today, I would like to welcome the eight new companies participating in the MPA GIA for the first time, and thank the 13 other sponsor companies for your continued support towards the programme. Besides being a mentor to our young recipients, your support of the programme will support MPA's efforts in developing maritime manpower pipelines critical for the continued growth of Maritime Singapore.

I would also like to thank NTU, NUS and SMU for partnering us in promoting this programme, which we hope continues to be relevant and beneficial to the students.

It is my hope that the strong and close collaboration among MPA, the industry and the education institutions continues, as we work towards the continued success of the MPA GIA programme. Our joint efforts in ensuring continuous learning and development will lead to a brighter future for these young talents and for Maritime Singapore.

Last but not least, I would like to thank the parents who are with us today for their support and encouragement. Your children have made a good choice to embark on this exciting career in the maritime sector.

Congratulations once again to the 30 award recipients today. As the future generation of Singapore's maritime industry, I hope you make the best use of this opportunity and return to contribute to the continued success of Maritime Singapore.

Thank you.