During the 2023 SAFETY4SEA Singapore Forum, Capt. Andre LeGoubin, President of The Nautical Institute, delivered a presentation on how the continuity of onboard training will ensure that today’s modern vessels continue to be operated in a safe, efficient, and commercially viable way.
In many industry events and forums we discuss the forthcoming digital age, the green evolution and the future of the merchant marine. But let’s be honest; in some ways the future is already here.
Recently, I have worked on several duel fuel vessels. In my experience, they are being run extremely well and everybody onboard is well trained and professional but, as we continue towards our industry’s transition, we need to ensure there is continuity of training onboard. We must pass on the experiential knowledge to those relieving us and to those coming after us in a positive, professional and acceptable way. We do this through a system of onboard training, familiarization and informal experiential knowledge transfer by one of the oldest methods of knowledge sharing known to humankind, but still so relevant today. – mentoring.
I have been involved in a project to promoted mentoring at sea with The Nautical Institute for about 15 years and I am pleased to see that mentoring is a word that we often hear used when talking about the onboard transfer of experiential knowledge. But what do I mean by mentoring? Mentoring can mean different things to different people. Some will even argue that mentoring cannot take place except in a long-term and formal relationship between Mentor and Mentee. I disagree with this as I believe that a Mentor is anyone who passes their knowledge to another who needs it and does so because they want to, without designated reward. It does not need to be long term – 10 minutes can be quite sufficient.
Who or what is a Mentor? What qualifications are required? The Oxford English dictionary describes a Mentor as an experienced and trusted advisor and sources the name of Mentor who was the adviser of the young Telemachus in Homer’s Odyssey. However, unlike Mentor, you don’t need to be an experienced and trusted advisor. Mentors are not mythical creatures, nor are they cloaked professors. Mentors are you or me, a Master, a chief engineer, a bosun, a superintendent, a surveyor, a line manager, a colleague, a friend or a stranger. In fact, anyone who shares a piece of experiential knowledge with you. That lovely tradition of taking somebody aside and taking a few minutes out of your busy schedule to teach them something, to show them how to do something or, even better, to let them try something for themselves under your watchful guidance.
I define experiential knowledge as the knowledge gained from professional on-the-job experiences that has been reflected upon. This can come from a wide variety of sources but it often has the most impact when it comes from an accident, an incident or a near miss. You don’t have to be involved in one to share lessons learned; it could be one that you investigated or even one that you read about in a safety briefing, but it must be reflected upon to become experiential knowledge.
According to the Middlesex University of London, “reflection is a thoughtful (in the sense of deliberative) consideration of your experiences, which leads you to decide what the experience means to you.’’ Over the years, reflection has become a very useful tool for me, particularly to review the actions I have taken and to accept the decisions I have made.
So, whilst we are in a somewhat of a reflective mood, what I would like you to do is think about your career to date and how you’ve got to where you are now. Is there anyone who stands out in your past as a Mentor as I have just described? I bet there is and that you can remember their name and probably the occasion on which they passed on a piece of experiential knowledge. That knowledge has stayed with you throughout your professional career. Many of you will now have a smile on your face as you are fondly remembering that person who made such a difference in your life. And this is what mentoring is all about!
Overall, it is of utmost importance to pass on the skills that we have now to our next generation of seafarers. Young people will adapt those skills, they will mix them with their latest technology on their vessels and successfully navigate into their futures. So, if you are wondering what experiential knowledge you should be passing on, you should just teach what you know.
Over the years, I have identified the following barriers to mentoring:
- Demands on your time
- Inexperience
- Multi-national and multi-cultural crews
- Fear of your response to questions
- Lack of interest
- Attitude
- Stressful
- Rapid promotion
- Sexual orientation
- No formal system of training for senior officers
- Gender
- Language
By far, the great barrier I have identified is Language.
Concluding, everyone has the knowledge to be a mentor and it does not need to take much of your time. Please remember, no matter where you are in your career this is our time to make a difference. Let’s use that time wisely!
Above article has been edited from Capt. Andre LeGoubin’s presentation during the 2023 SAFETY4SEA Singapore Forum.
Explore more by watching his video presentation here below
The views presented are only those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
