Crew competency not a tick box exerciese,says Videotel
“Continuing competency in the maritime industry should be at the very top of every ship operator’s agenda. The education and training of seafarers is key and the more competent and well-trained the crew, the less likelihood there is of costly accidents or incidents.” That is the hard hitting message from Nigel Cleave, CEO of Videotel Marine International as he launches Videotel’s innovative new Continuing Competency Manager (CCM) tool, designed to identify and develop the skills essential to safe and efficient shipboard operations.
Videotel’s CCM provides a one-stop solution for training, assessment and record keeping that will allow companies to develop crew competence at every level, from junior ratings to Master or Chief Engineer. Seafarer competence impacts on every shipping company and the implementation of a competency management system is crucial to both running a safe ship and maintaining a competitive advantage.
“Our training is both top-quality and highly authoritative,” adds Nigel Cleave. “All our material is developed in conjunction with experts in the field to make the learning process as effective as possible. We include interesting and informative video, dynamic animated content and a substantial range of randomised questions to really challenge seafarers to learn and remember. Our training is not easy – we don’t want it to be just a ‘tick-box’ exercise; we have designed it to increase skill, ability and onward development. That is certainly the reason why our training is endorsed by many professional maritime organisations.”
Forming what is essentially a Circle of Continuing Competency, the CCM system provides a CPD life cycle which moves and progresses with individuals and forms detailed crew training schedules and reports as companies plan, train, assess, record and report all their training activity. Developed and perfected over 5 years, it uses cloud-based technology to provide continuous training and assessment directly through Videotel’s web Fleet Training Administrator (webFTA) portal. This empowers companies to take control of their own competency solutions by giving them access to a range of blended training tools which are instantly available online, on board and onshore.
“The challenge to the maritime industry is clear,” concludes Nigel Cleave. “The Manila Amendments coming into force are intended to make sure that the highest standards of seafarer competence are maintained globally. The old days of prescriptive learning are gone, replaced by competency based programs, using continuous assessment against benchmarked standards. Videotel’s wide range of top quality training material delivered through Videotel on Demand (VOD) and our newly launched secure web-based VOD Online, delivers against that objective, ensuring safe, efficient and cost-effective operation on ships the world over.”
Source: Videotel
