The launch of a formal survey by the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) of candidates completing their oral exams has been greeted positively by Capt Pradeep Chawla, CEO and Founder of digital training company MarinePALS and Chairman of GlobalMET, the Maritime Seafarer Training & Education Association. The candidates will be questioned about the quality of education they have received, short courses and seagoing service.

“The more information we can gather about student responses to training courses, the good aspects and the bad, the more able the maritime sector is to tailor courses that provide seafarers with the knowledge they need and in the way they would like to receive it,” he says.  

“Safety is the most critical aspect of seafaring and we need to ensure that crew receives high quality training that they have not only understood but have also retained if we are to be certain that they can function safely onboard.”

MarinePALS is forging a new path in providing e-learning that is specifically geared up to the needs of digitally-savvy seafarers who are used to receiving information via YouTube. The company is the first maritime trainer to receive a Products and Solutions Certificate of Innovation from ClassNK in recognition of its suite of bite-sized tutorials, interactive training videos and gamified learning experiences.

“We have based our learning modules on research gathered by the education sector which shows that students much prefer to take control of their own learning, the time, the manner and the location of their choosing.  As we have found, it’s crucial that the industry provides training that is best suited to the needs of our students and this survey will be a helpful tool in ascertaining that.”

Photo credit: iStock/Denys Yelmanov