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11 Mar 2020
3 mins
Graduation of TNTA’s 17th Cohort!

6 months passed in a blink of an eye since the TNTA 17 hopped on to the seafaring career. On the 25 February, ten cadets from the cohort wore bright smiles as they are finally graduating and moving on to the sea-going phase of their training. Many had previously expressed their love for the sea as the reason they joined the TNTA programme, and the time has come for them to get a taste of working onboard a ship.

The session started off with a fireside chat, an opportunity for cadets to share their views with leaders from SMOU and WMI. The panel, most having been in the industry for many years in their lives, offered invaluable advice and clarified the doubts and fears that came up in the lively chat. They shared about SMOU’s core values the cadets can practise through their careers at sea and also forewarned that both literal and metaphorical storms will come when they work on the ships, but having a focus on completing their training and receiving their Certificate of Competency (CoC) 3 is important for their success. The cadets got their final pre-sea lesson at the fireside chat, taking away useful tips for the next 18 months that await them at sea.

Class President, Dominic Prasanth Joseph, encouraged his cohort mates in his speech saying, “As we each pursue our onboard journeys at sea, we promise to meet again after our sea time, work together to complete our phase 3, and spur each other through our CoC exams.”

Cadets were presented with their Pre-Sea Graduation Scrolls by SMOU General Secretary Mary Liew, and were ready to begin their sea-going training phase with CMA Ship Singapore, Pacific International Lines and POSH Fleet Services – shipping companies that have provided training berths for the cadets upon enrolment of the TNTA programme. The graduation ceremony proceeded with a celebratory dinner at Lighthouse Bistro where everyone commemorated yet another successful cohort of the TNTA programme.

To date, WMI to date has trained 17 cohorts of 347 deck cadets with the support of over 30 shipping companies which have offered shipboard placements, training allowances and long-term employment opportunity.

“I feel heartened that SMOU has provided such as strong support system, not only for me but also for my family members. It is a privilege, and not something that every career has. So I’m really grateful for that.”

Teo Hui Ying, Cadet

POSH Fleet Services

“The TNTA programme has improved my skills to work on board the ship. I can’t wait to start phase 2 of my training to apply what I have learnt on the ship and to experience the rough sea.”

Mohammad Shafiq Bin Had, Cadet

Pacific International Line