Grooming of deck Cadets - 7

Competent & Certified:

I was introduced to the Competency Based Training & Assessment (CBTA) concept when I started interacting with the Australian & New Zealand work cultures during my career.  On a lighter note, if you search for ‘CBTA’ on the net – you can be taken to a ‘Chinese Business & Technology’ group or a ‘Canadian Business Travellers’ group …or for that matter a Taekwando school or as is often confused one may think of CBTA as a ‘Computer Based’ Training… but NO! The CBTA as a concept is only about ‘Competency’ based training & and making the individuals ‘competent’ for job that is to be done by them!

Who would want to hand over his / her Mercedes to a drive unless the driver is competent and has been assessed after all?!!

Conversely speaking, this can also work as strategy for being excellent at one’s job if it has been adopted as a training strategy from its beginning! – mainly so from the cadetship itself!  

It is essential that there is a level of initiatives from the Cadets themselves when on board as well as when ashore about optimizing their training spells for the best results. The multiple ‘training facilitators’ and ‘training providers’ that they will encounter during their journeys as the MN Cadets – the CBTA concept will give a clear advantage in emerging as one the most competent future MN officers! And this need not be formulated by the authorities alone, this can also be one’s own learning & training style as well – why not?

When I take up the subject of Cadets’ grooming – it is quite a broadband in nature, covering all the aspects of their career phases that they are going to face once they start to stand the ‘watches’ and become accountable for their actions in operating the ships responsibly. This is way beyond the short term goals of certification alone. The certification / licensing system will test and check the Cadets / officers appearing for their exams basis of their curriculums – though it is exhaustive and always updated, the Cadets themselves have to be thoroughly competent and not just certified!  Post- Manila amendments to the STCW (standards of training, certification & watch keeping), many Port State Control inspectors seek to establish just that.

There is a remarkable difference between an officer who is ‘certified’ at certain date & an officer who is ‘competent’ at present. None can replace the other; these two are in fact ‘complimentary’ to each other ….

So, from the next post – let me share with you what the ‘CBTA approach’ can be as regards the Cadets’ grooming in the Merchant Navy as their own game strategy as well as that for their training facilitators ashore and on board.

 Safe sailings!