Emiratisation

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The director of EIMA, Captain Bin Sidin, is determined to get more Emiratis into the maritime industry.

Being an Emirati, Captain Al Hayyas is naturally proud of his country's long-standing tradition in sea-faring and would like to see it continued into the future, which is the reason he agreed to become manager of the EIMA.

"Emiratis have a fine tradition with the sea," he says. "The only thing that has changed is the nature of the work. It has gone from fishing and pearl diving to what we have in the UAE today with the logistics services and shipping."

"What we must remember is that there has been no access with regard to training and education for young Emiratis, but we hope that the EIMA will open the gate for them. The problem at the moment is that even though there are a high number of graduate jobseekers from the UAE they are not meeting what's required in the market. Hopefully our academy will attract those people and offer them the chance to receive the relevant training. However, things are not as bad as they once were.  When I started my cadetship they sent five of us to do a nautical science degree in the UK, now they are sending 50."

There is no denying that the academic quarter at the DMC campus will be first rate. The complex will include state-of-the-art educational facilities, accommodation for students, a library, a convention centre and mechanical equipment for training purposes, as well as various simulators such as a bridge simulator, an anchor handling simulator and a dynamic position simulator.

What will also be on offer to the students is the opportunity to gain vital practical experience with numerous big players within the industry.

"We need the help and support of the whole industry to provide placement opportunities to our students," Captain Bin Sidin says. "We are exploring ways to make shipping and logistics companies our partners in this."

Image is another big problem the maritime industry has to overcome. Young Emirati graduates are having their heads turned by the banking and finance sector while female candidates are also put off because they perceive the industry to be a male-dominated world. Captain Bin Sidin agrees.

"There's a lot we need to do to encourage young Emiratis to start a career in the industry," he says.

"We need to do a lot of marketing and promotion and when we are closer to opening we need to get into the schools and inform young people that the maritime industry is a extremely positive one to be in."

"Of course a career at sea is  traditonally male-dominated but there are also a lot of shore-based careers available. In-business shipping, shipping management, insurance, chartering and broking are all good examples. All of those jobs are suitable for both male and female Emiratis."

There is no doubt that there are some excellent opportunities in the shipping industry and with the current facilities that are being constructed it won't be too long before highly trained young people start to enter the workforce.

And with the problems currently facing the financial sector, the maritime industry is beginning to look like a far safer place to be in terms of job security and prospects for advancement. Hopefully young Emiratis will agree.

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