The world’s premiere crewing conference, the 12th Asia Pacific Manning and Training Conference, will return to Manila, the manning capital of the world, to tackle the latest issues shaping the maritime manpower business.
The conference will be held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza on November 16-17, 2011 and will attract over 350 industry leaders and experts from more than 20 countries.
The undertaking, which is the longest running international manpower, recruitment, retention and training conference is now on its 12th year and has become a traditional “must attend” event in the international maritime industry.
“The conference has developed strength and is exhibited as a major annual forum that attracts senior people,” GlobalMET Executive Secretary Rod Short noted.
Organized by the United Kingdom (UK)-based conference specialist, Informa Maritime Events, this year’s event will feature more problem-solving panel discussions that will place participants in the center of the decision-making process on issues that really matter. “Our goal is to encourage an open and cutting-edge debate on the real issues affecting the crewing industry,” Informa Maritime Events Senior Conference Producer Kathryn Barnard said.
“Broader participation will bring out more ideas and improve the level of dialogue resulting in more effective and real solutions to the issues affecting the industry,” she added.
Debates will focus on two important issues: “Raising training standards and competency of Filipino seafarers: A Government/Industry responsibility and response” and “Placing seafarers at the heart of the fight against piracy.”
Overseeing the debate is a panel of leading manning and training experts including : Intermanager President Alastair Evitt, Magsaysay Group of Companies President and CEO Doris Magsaysay Ho, International Chamber of Shipping & International Shipping Federation President Peter Hinchliffe, International Maritime Employer’s Committee (IMEC) Secretary General and Save Our Seafarers (SOS) Campaign Chairman Giles Heimann, V Ships India Managing Director Rajesh Tandon and Filipino Association for Mariners’ Employment, Inc (FAME) President Ericson Marquez, among others.
The conference will also feature two interactive delegate streams which will allow participants to customize the conference agenda to suit their needs. Delegates will have a choice of attending either: “Effective Training: Exploring strategic approaches to managing competence” or “Safe Manning: Examining ways to optimize the skills of shipboard personnel” sessions.
To round off the dialogues, the event will include six themed roundtable discussion sessions on key recruitment and training issues including: maritime education and training delivery, electronic ship operation, structured shipboard training, cross cultural communication, shipping industry image as a risk issue and the use of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to improve seafarers safety.
Participants are invited to register by August 19 to avail of generous discounts. Philippine residents who register by this date will be granted a special rate of UK349 pounds for savings of UK100 pounds. Rate for Asian delegates who book by said date is UK799 pounds for savings of UK200 pounds, while the rate for delegates outside Asia is UK999 pounds for savings of UK200 pounds. Registration beyond August 19 will carry a higher rate.
