Structured Shipboard Training Program and Performance of Maritime Cadets

This study utilized the descriptive survey method of research which tried to assess the shipboard training profile and performance of maritime cadets of Palompon Institute of Technology, Palompon, Leyte as inputs to improve the maritime education program of the Institute. The subjects were the deck and engine cadets who completed their 3-year curricular academic requirements who were qualified to take their 1-year shipboard apprenticeship on board Dutch ships from 2014-2015. The main instrument used in this study was the standardized survey questionnaire taken from the International Shipping Federation (ISF) logbook contained in the Quality Management System Manual of PIT College of Maritime Education (COMEd) which was approved and accepted by the Det Norske Veritas (DNV), an international consulting firm and Commission on Higher Education ( CHED). Findings showed that the cadets were above average when it came to their personal qualities and their professional knowledge and skills. Most of them were assigned in a general cargo including Ro-ro (roll on- roll off) and big lift. Moreover, both deck and engine cadets were only average when it came to their task performance at the operational level. When each of the profile indicators of the cadets was related to their task performance, only the personal qualities and professional knowledge and skills revealed a significant relationship to their task performance. Likewise, the safety of onboard practices of the engine cadets in terms of marine engineering and controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board was significantly related to the profile in terms of personal qualities and professional knowledge and skills so as their task performance. Thus, it is recommended that the apprenticeship program should be treated seriously and with sincerity, since this is the only form of a training program that the school can offer that will help them enhance their knowledge and skills thereby making them more effective and productive seafarers. It is also recommended to adopt the training model and identify its loopholes to pave the way for further improvements.