SMOU has always been a strong advocate for building the Singapore seafaring core. To bolster efforts and fuel the longevity of our Singapore core in maritime, tripartite partners—the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), NTUC’s employment and employability institute (e2i), the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), and SMOU—launched the Sail Milestone Achievement Programme (SailMAP) on 30 May 2022.

First mooted at the Committee of Supply debate on 9 March by Senior Minister of State for Transport, Mr Chee Hong Tat, the programme will encourage local seafarers to progress in their careers at sea and attain higher levels of competencies through monetary incentives at key milestones. Each seafarer will be able to receive up to S$50,000 from the programme when they advance in their journey to attain the highest certification of competency in their domain of expertise.