PNN
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], August 28: Encouraging Indian millennials to choose a career in the merchant navy is a tough task due to the diverse career options available to them as India is one of the fastest developing economies of the world currently, as stated by Captain Vinay Singh, Group Managing Director Marine HR, Anglo-Eastern Group. "They need immense guidance and encouragement to join the seafaring profession," he added.
Captain Vinay Singh expressed his views after India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation and especially the youth of the country, on August 15, 2023, on eve of India’s 77 th Independence Day said that “India has "democracy, demography and diversity" which have potential to realise dreams of the country. While other countries are growing old, India is young. We have the highest number of youths in the world."
Capt Vinay Singh also stated that in the past, careers involving foreign travel were highly sought after in India. However, with the opening and liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s, the IT/service sector became more popular; causing a steady decline in the appeal amongst Indian youth for careers in the sectors like aviation, Indian Foreign Service, merchant navy, etc.
Despite this shift, India continues to produce about 9.5 million college graduates each year, including 1.5 million technical and engineering graduates who seek suitable employment opportunities.
“Globally, there are only around 1.5 million seafarers, and India contributes approximately 160,000 professionally certified seafarers and 250,000 total seafarers. Over the past decade, the number of Indian seafarers has experienced a significant growth rate of about 270%, and the number of certificates of competency issued for entry-level deck officers has increased by 85%,” said Capt Vinay Singh. He added that those who prefer not to work in an indoor environment, the merchant navy offers unique benefits, especially for younger individuals in India. These benefits include global exposure, working with different nationalities and types of ships, a challenging work environment with new technologies, rapid professional growth in a sector facing a shortage of skilled professionals, and attractive perks such as tax-free wages, job security, and extended leaves between assignments.
Despite many challenges pertaining to awareness related to seafaring profession, maritime skilling & recruitment, etc in India, the merchant navy remains a popular career choice amongst the Indian youth. “Anglo-Eastern Group, for example, accepts over 700 new trainees from India annually, making up about 25% of the Indian market for fresh seafarers. The high demand is evident from the fact that only 1 out of 40 applicants gets selected at the Anglo-Eastern Maritime Academy – A prestigious and award-winning maritime training institute of India,” said Capt Vinay Singh.
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